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DECORATIVE  ART 


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VJ*  Exhibited  at  Chicago  in   1893.  fj 


DEDICATED  TO 

HER  WAcJESTY  QUEEN  A\ARGHERITA, 


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A  GUIDE 


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Exhibited  at  Chicago  in  1893. 


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DEDICATED  TO 


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HER  MAdESTY  QUEEN  MARGttERITA, 


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Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress  in  the  year  A.  D.  1893,  in  the  office  of 
the  Librarian  of  Congress  at  Washington,  D.  6., 

.  .  .  BY  .  .  . 
.»  ' 

CORA  A.  SLOCOMB  DI  BRAZZA. 

CHISAGO. 


DECORATIVE  ART 


GIFT 


W.  B.  CONKEY  COMPANY, 

341-351  DEARBORN  STREET,  CHICAGO, 

I893. 


HER    MAJESTY    QUEEN    MARGHERITA. 


N, 


TO   HER   AAAdESTY 


aif£>hertitei  @fj|^afr@ja,     •;• 

QUEEN   Or   ITALY. 


YOUR   MAJESTY: 

A/iany  words  were  in  my  heart  and  floated 
uncrystallized  across  my  mind,  with  which  to  dedicate  the  work 
of  our  Lace  Committee  and  this  little  Guide  Book  to  Your  Majesty, 
when  my  eyes  rested  upon  the  following  lines  by  Aurelio  Passerotti, 
at  the  beginning  of  his  Pattern  Book  for  noble  lace  makers,  the 
only  known  copy  of  which  belongs  to  Count  Nerio  Malvezzi  of 
Bologna.  Here  are  mirrored  all  my  thoughts,  gracefully  clothed  in 
that  old  time  phraseology  which  is  as  intricately  and  delicately 
wrought  as  the  subtile  fabric  to  whose  treasury  it  serves  as  a  key, 
and  whose  gracious  mistress  it  so  respectfully  lauds. 

1  therefore  pray  Your  Majesty  to  accept  this  tribute  of  another 
time  to  another  Royal  Margherita,  who,  in  that  portion  of  the  land 
over  which  she  reigned,  loved  to  protect  and  to  encourage  the  arts 
of  peace,  as  does  Your  Majesty  throughout  United  Italy. 


251 


...PREFACE... 


THIS  is  not  only  a  guide  hook  descriptive  of  the  unique  collection  of  antique 
laces  from  all  parts  of  the  world  exhibited  in  the  Italian  section  of  the 
Woman's  Building,  at  the  World's  Columbian  Exposition,  held  in  Chicago 
during  the  summer  of  1893,  and  kindly  lent  by  Our  Most  Gracious  Queen 
Margherita  and  the  ladies  of  Italy,  whose  names  follow  on  the  list  of  Direct- 
resses and  Patronesses. 

It  opens  with  a  description  of  every  kind  of  lace-like  fabric,  and  forms  a 
complete  and  succinct  history  of  lace  from  its  origin  to  the  present  day  ;  it  con- 
tains a  biographical  sketch  of  those  artists  who  entrusted  to  us  their  finest 
works,  all  of  which  are  for  sale  that  there  might  be  a  worthy  framing  to  the 
rarer  laces. 

It  also  has  appended  a  list  of  the  books  exhibited,  which  form  a  small 
and  interesting  library,  and  complete  collection  of  antique  designs  for  lace- 
makers  and  embroiderers,  compiled  by  the  editor,  and  placed  for  reference 
and  study  at  the  disposal  of  those  visitors  whom  they  may  interest. 

Finally  and  above  all,  it  contains  descriptive  notices  of  all  the  Lace 
Schools  and  Lace  Manufactories  in  Italy,  founded  or  directed  by  women,  with 
which  the  committee  has  been  able  to  communicate  in  the  short  time  between 
its  organization  and  the  shipping  of  the  exhibit  to  Chicago.  These  notices  are 
illustrated  by  photographs  and  very  complete  albums  of  samples,  as  well  as 
by  large  quantities  of  the  laces  Italian  women  produce,  which  are  for  sale  with 
immediate  delivery.  For  any  information  or  purchases  of  books  or  laces, 
visitors  are  begged  to  address  themselves  to  the  lady  attendant,  remembering 
that  every  piece  of  lace  sold,  however  insignificant  it  may  seem,  means  at 
least  one  hearty  meal  for  some  poor  and  industrious  woman,  some  fatherless, 
dumb  or  crippled  child  in  Italy. 


INTRODUCTION. 


PART  I. 
INTRODUCTION. 


A    Descriptive  Enumeration  of  the  most  Celebrated   Laces 

of  the  Past. 
For  a  clear  understanding  of  any  chapter  of  the  second  part  or 
history  of  lace  making,  without  reading  the  one  preceding  it,  it 
is  necessary  thoroughly  to  comprehend  and  to  impress  upon 
the  mind  the  following  terms  and  their  meanings,  remembering 
that  the  older  and  kindred  arts  from  which  lace-making  sprang, 
are  very  nearly  allied  to  it,  and  often  produce  such  similar 
effects  that  it  is  impossible  for  the  uninitiated  to  distinguish 
between  them. 


OLD    AND    NKW     LACE     IN     ITAI  \ 


Patronesses  Residing1  in  Foreign  Countries. 


Lire. 


Signora  A.  Ravagli  forthe  Italian  Colony  in  Cincinnati, United  States 

of  America 295  25 

The   Consul    for   the    Italian    Colony    in    Chicago,  United  States  of 

America 120  60 

Countess  di  Cesnola,  New  York,  United  States  of  America 12c 

Baroness  Fava,  Legation  at  Washington,  United  States  of  America.  100  00 

Signora  Bruni  Grimaldi,  Denver,  United  States  of  America 100  00 

Countess  Galli  nata  Roberts,  Paris,  France 103  50 

Marchesa  Mariad  Adda  Sal vaterra nata  Hooker,  Paris,  France 100  00 

Total 953  35 

Contributions  received    from   the  Royal  Ministry  of  Commerce  and 

Agriculture 1,000 

RECAPITULATION. 

I  Venetia 4,708 

I I  Roman  Provinces 2,020 

III  Tuscany 1,989 

IV  Sicily 1,883 

V  Lombardy 1,510 

VI  Romagna 1,187 

VII  Liguria 1,100 

VIII  Naples 900 

IX  Piedmont 45i  I 

X  Emilia 260 

XI  Umbria   200 

XII  Abruzzi 100 

XIII  Marche 100 

XIV  Sardegna 100 

Patronesses   residing  in  foreign  countries 953  35 

Contribution  from  the  Royal   Ministry  of  Agriculture  and  Commerce    1,000 

dotal 18,460  35 

Donation  from  the  Countess  di  Brazza  to  assist  in  defraying  the  expenses 
of  the  Lace  exhibit — all  the  proceeds  of  the  author  as  royalty  on  the  sale  of 
this  book. 


OLD  AND  NEW  LACK  IN  ITALY.  II 


I.— PASSAMANO  OR  PASSAMENTERIE. 

(Gimp,  and  Knotted  Fringes  or  Trimmings.) 
Their  Manufacture. 
These  trimmings  or  adornments  are  now  made  by  means  of  a 
long,  narrow,  bolster-shaped  cushion  screwed  to  a  table;  on  this 
cushion  the  fringed-out  stuff  or  a  foundation  cord  is  held  in  place 
by  large  headed  pins  around  which  are  knotted,  in  various  pat- 
terns, the  threads  that  are  to  form  the  fringe  or  edging;  in  the 
coarser  work,  the  fingers  alone  suffice  to  tie  the  knots  but  for  finer 
effects,  the  use  of  the  crochet  needle  is  necessary.  To  prepare  a 
textile  for  its  conversion  into  an  ornamental  knotted  border,  the 
woof  threads  are  drawn  out,  leaving  a  portion  of  the  warp  of  the 
width  required  for  the  fringe,  the  selvedge  is  cut  away  and  the 
threads  are  knotted  as  desired.  Extra  tassels  are  sometimes 
added  for  a  finish. 

Different  J  'arieties. 

Macrame  is  a  modification  of  the  ordinary  passamenteric. 
Different  kinds  of  macrame  are  known  as: 

PuntO  a  Groppo,  knotted  point. 

Punto  Moresco,  or  Moorish  point. 

Punto  a  Groppo  Ineordonato,  or  corded,  knotted  point.  The 
above  are  all  terms  used  by  the  Venetians  for  this  class  of  work. 


II.— RETE  (net),  AND  MAGLIA  (knitting-). 

Manufacture  of  Knitting. 
For  the  single  stitches  of  both  the  Italians  have  one  generic 
term,  viz.,  "MagUa"  knitting.  Punto  a  Maglia  is  made  with  two 
long,  blunt  needles  of  wood,  steel  or  bone  held  one  in  each  hand; 
over  them  a  thread  is  knotted  in  and  out  continuously  until  a 
flexible,  elastic  material  is  formed  which  is  more  or  less  ornate 
according  to  the  object  for  which  it  is  destined  and  the  fancy  of 
the  knitter. 


12  OLD  AND  NEW  LACE  IN  ITALY. 

Manufacture  of  Net. 

Rete  ( net)  is  made  by  means  of  a  wooden,  brass  or  bone 
needle,  bifurcated  at  either  end,  around  which  the  thread  or  cord 
is  wound;  a  little  stick  is  also  used  the  width  of  which  must  be 
half  the  depth  of  the  stitches  or  meshes  required.  The  end  of 
the  netting  cord  or  thread  is  knotted  in  a  loop  to  a  solid  peg; 
holding  the  stick  in  the  left  hand,  the  needle  charged  with  the 
cord  is  passed  around  the  stick,  through  the  loop,  and  in  and  out 
again  through  the  first  twist  made  which  is  held  in  place  by  the 
stick  and  thus  forms  a  knot.  The  stick  is  then  removed  and  an- 
other mesh  is  begun. 

Different  Vanctics. 

Frivolite  {tatting).  For  this  the  little  stick  is  replaced  by  the 
fingers  of  the  left  hand  and  more  complicated  knots  of  different 
varieties  are  made. 

Modano,  a  very  ancient  net  lace  that  is  made  without  any 
embroidery  is  quite  artistic  in  effect.  The  meshes  of  Modano 
may  be  large  or  small,  round,  square  or  shell-shaped,  according  to 
the  size  and  form  of  the  stick  which  is  held  in  the  left  hand  and 
the  number  of  meshes  taken  or  skipped  in  knotting  into  the  row 
above.  This  netting  can  be  varied  indefinitely;  it  is  often  very 
pretty  and  to  the  untrained  eye,  it  greatly  resembles  some  of  the 
varieties  of  pillow  lace. 

Manufacture  of  Laces: 

Merletto  a  Maglia  or  Maglietta  {laces  or  net  lace). 

Merletto  aMagliaQuadrata  (square  net  lace). 

Merletto  a  Retine  Rieamate  (embroidered  net  lace.) 

These  are  all  terms  used  for  the  embroidered  nets  that  were 
so  much  the  fashion  in  the  middle  ages. 

Alter  making  meshes  of  the  size  and  number  desired  to  com- 
pose the  net  foundation,  this  is  sown  firmly  to  a  metal  frame, 
wound  with  tape,  which  keeps  it  perfectly  stretched,  for  on  this 
greatly  depends  the  beauty  of  the  finished  work;  the  design  is 
then  embroidered  with  a  needle  and  thread  upon  the  net  in  varied 
stitches,  the  principal  ones  used  being  darning,  wheel  and  button- 
hole. 


OLD  AND  NEW  LACE  IN  ITALY.  I  ] 

III.—  PUNTO  TIRATO  OR  PUNTO  DISFATTO  (drawn  work) 
PUNTO  TAGLIATO  (cut  work). 
These  titles  comprise  all  the  earliest  attempts  to  produce 
needle  lace;  the  most  elaborate  varieties  might  really  be  treated 
as  point  laces  if  judged  simply  by  their  appearances;  these  laces 
are  worked  in  linen  or   lawn. 

Manufacture  of  Buratg. 

BuratO  is  an  embroider)-  wrought  with  the  needle,  in  which 
drawn  work,  outlining'  and  cross-stitch  are  combined.  It  is  finely 
spun  though  coarsely  woven  fabrics,  and  was  used  on  underwear 
and  household  linen. 

Punto  in  Stuora  (sheeting  or  curtain  stitch),  also  called  Tra- 
punto.  This  is  made  with  silk  or  thread,  forming  what  people 
commonly  call  Sicilian  embroidery  or  Lice;  the  ground  of  this  lace 
instead  of  being  drawn  and  embroidered  in  the  textile,  is  often 
made  with  bobbins,  the  threads  of  which  form  a  kind  of  very 
coarse,  twisted  gauze,  or  fine  net,  on  which  the  designs  are  after- 
ward embroidered. 

Manufacture  of  Punto  Tagliato  (cut  work).  The  design  for 
this  work  was  first  traced  on  a  piece  of  linen  which  was  then 
drawn  very  smoothly  over  a  leaf  of  parchment  attached  to  a  hair 
cushion,  called  a  "baton,"  and  firmly  basted  down.  This  com- 
pleted, a  coarse  thread  was  sewed  along  the  traced  outline,  and  a 
Punto  a  Festone,  or  button-hole  stitch,  was  worked  over  this  around 
the  entire  design;  then,  very  carefully  cutting  away  the  inter- 
vening material  that  none  of  the  threads  composing  the  stitching 
might  be  frayed,  double  parallel  threads  were  drawn  from  angle 
to  angle  of  the  empty  spaces;  these  threads  were  often  elabor- 
ately intercrossed  and  button-holed  to  enriching  the  design,  or 
they  were  caught  around  pins  at  the  border,  forming  an  edging 
of  purled  loops  called  cechetti  arid  smerli. 

Different  Varieties. 

Punto  Calabrese  (Calabrian  work)  very  closely  resembles 
the  last  but  it  is  adorned  with  high  reliefs. 


14  OLD    AND    NEW    LACE    IN    ITALY. 

IV.-  PUNTO  A  RETICELLA  RADIXELLI  (NET  POINTS). 

Manufacture  of  Reticella. 

This  stitch  consists  in  a  combination  of  drawn  and  cut 
work,  no  design  was  traced,  but  the  threads  of  the  linen  were 
counted  and  drawn  out  in  such  manner  as  to  form  alternate 
squares  in  which  the  warp  alone  was  then  cut  away,  and  the 
remaining  threads  were  used  as  a  foundation  which  was  button- 
holed over  the  open  spaces  between  being  filled  as  in  Punto 
Tagliato — with  fancy  stitches. 

Punto  Surana  was  a  kind  of  Recticella  with  oriental  designs. 

Punto  Greco  and  Punto  di  Zantc,  were  names  given  to  the  same 
kind  of  work  coming  from  Greece  and  the  Archipelago. 

Punto  Reale,  or  Royal  point  was  the  contrary  of  Reticella  al- 
though executed  in  the  same  manner,  for  in  it  the  linen  ground 
was  left  and  the  design  was  made  by  cutting  out  open  spaces 
and  then  filling  them  in  with  fancy  stitches. 

Punto  di  Cartella  or  Cardclla  {card  work)  was  a  lace  having 
a  similar  effect  to  that  of  Reticella,  but,  instead  of  having  the 
ground  made  by  drawn  work,  the  button-holing  was  done  en- 
tirely on  a  foundation  made  by  sewing  coarse  shreds  of  parch- 
ment on  a  most  carefully  drawn  design  and  then  covering  them 
with  button-hole  stitch. 

The  most  celebrated  edgings  in  Reticella  were  known  wider  the  fol- 
lowing names : 

Punti  d'Arcato  {Arched points).  When  the  loops  or  smerli 
of  the  edge  became  deep  and  more  ornate  they  received  this  dis- 
tinctive appellation. 

Punti  Fiamenghi  (Flemish points),  these  were  rectangular  and 
therefore  rather  broad  and  shallow,  they  were  often  alternated 
in  two  sizes,  placed  close  together  but  always  retained  the  same 
form. 

Punti  Spag-nuoli  (Spanish  points),  were  like  the  preceding, 
save  that  they  were  all  of  the  same  size  and  much  longer,  nar- 
rower and  more  pointed,  and  surrounded  by  elaborate  small 
smerli, 

Punti  Gaetani  were  a  combination  of  Spanish  and   Flemish 


OLD    AND    NEW    LACE    IN    ITALY.  1 5 

points  held  together  by  smerli  at  one  third  or  half  their  depth; 
they  were  filled  in  with  the  usual  stitches  producing  a  varied 
effect  which  resembled  a  double  row  of  smerlatura  or  turretting. 
There  were  many  other  fancy  stitches,  generally  known  in  Italy 
at  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century,  which  continued  in 
use  after  the  introduction  of  the  real  points,  or  needle  laces,  pro- 
duced exclusively  with  a  needle  and  thread,  the  textile  founda- 
tion no  longer  being  found  necessary  in  that  more  elaborate  and 
perfected  lace.     Some  of  these  stitches  were  known  as: 

Punto  Damaschino,  or  Damascus  point. 

PuntO  a  Filo  or  Punto  a  Festone  a  variety  of  button  hole  stitch. 

PuntO  RilevatO,  raised  stitch,  or  stitch  in  relief. 

Punto  Sopra  Punto,  loop  stitch  in  relief. 

Punto  Ingarseato,  gauze  stitch  (used  as  a  filling  in  stitch). 

Punto  CipriotO,  Cyprus  stitch,  with  an  effect  resembling  the 
open  work  ground  in  Greek  and  Turkish  embroidery. 

PuntO  PugTiese,  which  resembled  Russian  and  Roumania 
embroidery,  etc. .  In  fact  wherever  lace  was  made  there  were  also 
local  terms  as  is  the  case  in  every  other  industry. 


V.— POINT  LACES. 

Manufacture  of  Point  Lace. 

Point  laces  are  made  entirely  with  the  needle  and  are  as  sus- 
ceptible to  the  surrounding  influences  and  climate,  people  and 
national  characteristics  as  are  the  architecture,  sculpture  and 
paintings  of  different  countries.  This  delicate  art  is  indeed  so 
sensitive  to  change  that,  strange  as  it  may  seem,  the  same  pat- 
terns wrought  by  lace-makers  of  neighboring  towns  and  villages, 
produce  entirely  different  effects.  There  are,  however,  unaltera- 
ble general  rules  which  are  followed  everywhere,  namely,  that  the 
design  must  first  be  very  carefully  drawn  upon  a  piece  of  parch- 
ment which  has  been  so  tinted  as  to  form  a  dark  back-ground, 
and  a  large  thread  (or  several  fine  threads  twisted  together)  must 
be  sewn  with  great  exactness  around  the  edges  of  all  the  flowers, 
scrolls  and  other  figures  of  the  design  as  a  foundation,  using  as 
few  stitches  in  this  as  possible,  because  these  stitches  are  after- 


l6  OLD    AND    NEW    LACE    IN    ITALY. 

ward  cut  away;,  all  the  figures  of  the  design  are  then  filled  in  be- 
tween the  outlining  threads  with  close  and  varied  stitches;  the 
ground  is  then  made  with  net-work  (tulle  stitch)  like  Burano 
point,  or  with  purled  guipure,  like  Venetian  point;  lastly  the 
foundation  threads  which  follow  the  edges  of  the  design  are  but- 
ton-holed over,  more  or  less  elaborately,  to  form  the  reliefs.  The 
lace  is  detached  carefully  from  the  parchment  foundation  by  cut- 
ting the  fastening  threads  and  the  different  pieces  composing  the 
desired  length  are  sewed  together,  the  finishing  .touches  being 
added  by  an  especially  skilled  worker.  In  the  making  of  point 
lace  the  needle-women  are  usually  divided  into  six  different  sec- 
tions, to  each  of  which  a  different  portion  of  the  work  is  allotted, 
such  as  grounding,  tulling,  etc.,  thus  affording  not  only  greater 
rapidity  but  more  skilled  execution. 

Punto  di  Venezia,  or  Venetian  point,  also  called  parchment  lace. 
This  is  a  comprehensive  term  under  which  the  following  vari- 
eties of  needle  laces  with  open  grounds  are  known;  the  Punto  di 
Venezia,  properly  so-called,  differs  from  the  Punto  in  Aria  only  in 
having  the  scrolls  farther  apart,  more  insignificant  in  design,  and 
surrounded  by  button-hole  stitch. 

Varieties  of  Venetian  Point. 

Punto  in  Aria  (lace  worked  in  air).  In  this  lace  the  flowers, 
scrolls  and  designs  of  animals  were  wrought  in  very  fine  thread 
in  varied  open  work  composed  of  very  small  stitches;  the  threads 
forming  the  foundation  were  then  button-holed  over  before  the 
filling  in  of  the  design,  and  the  whole  was  held  in  place  where 
the  design  did  not  connect  the  parts  with  button-holed  purled 
loops  or  guipure  bars. 

Punto  ad  Avorio  [ivory  point)  was  a  variety  of  the  above  with 
designs  copied  from  the  beautiful  flowered  scrolls  of  the  intarcia 
(inlaid)  work  of  the  sixteenth  century;  being  made  with  very 
close  stitches  and  low  reliefs  which  produced  a  solid  effect.  It 
looked  as  though  carved  in  ivory  and  justified  this  distinctive 
appellation. 

Punto  dei  Nobili,  or  cardinal  lace,  was  especially  manufac- 
tured   for   marriages,   births  and   grand   family  or  civic  festivals 


OLD    AND    NEW    LACE    IN    ITALY.  \~ 

Its  designs  pictured  warriors  on  foot,  or  on  horseback,  hunts, 
castles,  towns,  animals,  cardinal's  hats  and  princely  crowns,  gods, 
goddesses  and  mermaids — in  fact  nearly  ever}*  kind  of  objeet, 
real  or  imaginary;  in  case  of  a  treat}-  or  a  marriage,  the  arms  of 
the  contracting  parties  were  liberally  introduced  into  the  design 
of  the  lace  destined  to  be. used  on  the  occasion. 

Punto  tagliato  a  Fogliame  [flowered  lace).  This  is  a  lace 
composed  of  scrolls  and  flowers  that  seem  literally  carved 
in  flax.  It  is  the  richest  point  lace  ever  invented,  and  formerly 
it  was  made  in  silk,  gold  or  silver  as  well  as  thread.  Using 
the  Punto  in  Aria  as  a  foundation  to  produce  this  lace,  stitches 
are  made  upon  stitches,  and  row  is  super-added  upon  row 
of  button-holing.  The  flowers  were  formerly  packed  with  horse 
hair  instead  of  with  thread,  that  they  might  stand  out  in  fuller, 
richer  reliefs,  detaching  themselves  more  perfectly  from  the 
ground-work,  or  foundation.  All  around  the  edges  of  these  won- 
derful blossoms  and  scrolls,  and  upon  the  sides  and  pinnacles  of 
every  relief  were  then  made,  with  infinite  patience,  thousands 
upon  thousands  of  microscopic  loops,  sometimes  five  or  six  rows 
deep,  resembling  more  the  delicate  flowers  and  fairy  landscapes 
seen  in  hoar  frost  than  the  work  of  even  the  daintiest  human 
fingers.  Modifications  of  this  celebrated  lace,  sung  by  poets,  de- 
scribed by  historians,  and  a  source  of  commercial  rivalry  between 
powerful  potentates,  were  known  as: 

PuntO  di  Spagna;  point  made  in  Spain. 

Grand  Point  de  France,  also  called  Point  Colbert,  from  the 
minister  of  Louis  XIV,  who  introduced  it  into  his  country  from 
Venice. 

PuntO  di  Neve  (snozo  point),  which  was  very  beautiful  with 
its  ground  of  starred  threads  that  resemble  flakes  of  snow. 

PuntO  di  Rosa  {rose point).  The  bars  of  this  lace  were  placed 
close  together,  forming  a  regular,  sexagonal  network-ground, 
with  innumerable  raised  flowers  and  tiny  scrolls  composing  the 
design. 

PuntO  a  Fogliame  (leaf  point),  with  graceful  blooms  and 
tendrils  predominating  in  the  design,  and  many  loops  upon  their 
edges,  like  the  denticulated  margins  of  leaves  and  flowers. 


l8  OLD    AND    NEW    LACE    IN    ITALY. 

PuntO  a  Gioie  {jewelled, point),  is  frequently  mentioned  by 
•old  writers,  although  no  example  of  it  is  left  for  the  instruction 
of  the  industrial  artists  of  to-day.  It  was  into  this  lace  that 
pearls  and  other  gems,  and  even  the  colored  Venetian  beads  that 
so  closely  resemble  gems,  were  wrought  by  skilled  artists,  pro- 
ducing a  most  gorgeous  effect;  this  lace  was  also  varied  by  using 
silk,  gold  or  silver  instead  of  linen  thread  as  a  foundation  or  to 
form  the  reliefs. 

BURANO  POINT  AND  THE  LACES  TO  WHICH  IT  GAVE  ORIGIN. 

Punto  di  Burano  is  so  called  from  the  place  of  its  manufact- 
ure, Burano,  an  island  in  the  lagoon  east  of  Venice.  This 
flowered  point  lace  with  a  gauze  ground  was  very  highly  prized, 
and  the  following  celebrated  laces  were  all  copied  from  it. 

Argentella;  a  fine  needle-point  lace  resembling  the  Burano 
point,  but  with  a  curious  kind  of  spider-web  ground  introduced. 
Mrs.  Bury  Paliser  says  it  was  invented  in  Genoa,  but  we  believe 
that  it  is  the  Italian  term  for  early  Argentan  lace,  for  there  are 
no  proofs  of  needle  lace  ever  having  flourished  in  Genoa  or  its 
.environs. 

POINT  D'ALENCON,  AND  POINT   D'ARGENTAN. 

The  manufacture  of  these  laces  was  introduced  into  France 
under  Louis  XIV,  through  the  importation,  and  at  great  expense, 
of  Italian  lace  makers,  to  teach  their  art  to  the  lace  makers  of 
France  who,  of  course,  modified  it.  These  laces  copied  from  the 
antique  designs  are  now  produced  in  as  great  perfection  in  the 
co-operative  lace  schools  of  Burano  as  they  were  a  hundred  years 
ago,  the  time  of  their  greatest  glory,  in  France. 

Point  d'Alencon,  has  the  same  square  mesh  ground  as  Burano 
point,  but  it  is  not  quite  as  fine  as  that  of  the  early  Buranese  speci- 
mens, the  outlines  of  the  reliefs,  serving  as  foundation,  were  fre- 
quently formed  of  horse  hair,  covered  by  the  usual  button-hole 
stitch  and  purled. 

Point  d'Arg-entan.  The  ground  meshes  of  this  lace  are  Larger 
than  those  of  the  Point  d'Alencon  and  their  sexagonal  form  is  per- 
fect, and  frequently  composed  entirely  of  microscopic  button- 
holing which  increases  immensely  the  value  of  the  lace  in  it.    The 


OLD  AND  NEW  LACE  IX  ITALY.  1 9 

flower  designs  have  a  much  closer  filling  and  the  open  work 
spaces  are  larger  and  more  varied  in  their  stitches  than  those  of 
Point  cFAlencon. 

Vieux  Point  de  Bruxelles  (old  Brussels  point)  exactly  resem- 
bles the  earliest  Bur ano point,  the  distinction  between  them  con- 
sisting- in  its  ground  stitch  being  slightly  rounder  than  that  of 
Burano  point. 

Mixed  Points. 

Point  de  Bruxelles  {modern  Brussels  lace)  is  composed  of 
flowers,  scrolls  and  ribbons  of  needle  point  sewed  upon  a  fme, 
machine-made  tulle  which  is  cut  out  beneath  the  flower,  after 
which  the  whole  is  so  perfectly  darned  together  that  the  lace 
appears  as  if  made  in  one  piece. 

Point  Plat,  in  Brussels  lace  is  so  called  when  the  flowers  and 
scrolls  transferred  to  the  net  are,  as  in  Honiton  Lace,  made 
entirely  with  bobbins. 

Duchess  Lace,  or  Point  d 'Application,  resembles  the  Brussels 
Point  Plat,  the  only  difference  being  that  in  the  Duchesse  lace  the 
tulle  foundation  is  not  cut  away. 

The  tulle  or  meshes  in  old  Brussels  bobbin  lace  are  hexag- 
onal in  form;  four  of  the  sides  of  the  mesh  are  composed  of  two 
threads  twisted  together  twice,  and  two  of  the  sides  are  composed 
of  four  threads  plaited  together  four  times. 

Honiton,  or  English  Point,  resembles  Duchesse  lace  when 
made  with  a  tulle  ground,  as,  if  an  all-over  design  of  flowers  be 
desired,  the  workwomen  execute  each  branch  of  blossoms  sep- 
arately and  these  are  afterward  united  by  purled  bars. 

English  Needle  Lace  has  never  been  manufactured  in  large 
quantities  but  was  always  copied  from  Italian,  French  or  Belgian 
lace;  it  therefore  has  no  distinctive  terminology. 

In  the  last  twenty  years  a  lace  composed  of  narrow,  machine 
or  hand-made  braid  and  point  lace  stitches,  has  become  fashion- 
able in  England;  as  fancy  work  some  of  the  designs  are  very  good 
and  the  stitches  are  pleasantly  varied.  This  lace  is  really  a  revival 
of  Panto  di  Ragusa,  but  it  is  much  less  artistic,  having  a  meagre 
appearance;  it   is  generally  called  Point  without   any  other  defini- 


20  OLD  AND  NEW  LACE  IN  ITALY. 

tion.  Sometimes  it  is  called  braided  lace ;  in  Italy  it  is  known  as 
Guipure  a  Spighetta  Inglcse,  or  Englisli  Braided  Guipure. 

Venetian  Guipure  was  a  mixed  point  lace.  The  scroll  work 
and  flowers  in  it  were  outlined  in  pillow  lace,  then  the  designs 
were  filled  in  and  reliefs  were  made  with  the  needle,  the  ground 
being  composed  of  purled  bars,  this  lace  was  somtimes  made  in 
silk  with  pleasing  effect. 

Turkish  Point  is  a  fine  needle  lace  made  on  the  edge  of  oriental 
stuffs,  it  is  artistic  and  very  original.  It  is  composed  entirely 
of  one  stitch,  that  of  the  Pimto  in  Aria  without  any  button-holing, 
or  ground,  or  connecting  loops  sometimes  it  is  made  in  imita- 
tion of  flowers  and  fruits  in  their  natural  colors,  or  all  of  white  silk 
with  gold  and  silver  threads  introduced.  At  others  it  forms  a 
narrow  edging  composed  of  simple,  geometric  designs. 

Irish  Point  is  made  on  fine  batiste  by  stitching  a  coarse  thread 
all  around  the  design  and  then  cutting  out  the  groundwork  and 
filling  in  the  open  spaces,  sometimes  with  connecting  loops  and 
knots,  and  at  other  times  with  Pimto  i?i  Aria. 

Irish  Guipure  is  made  with  a  crochet  needle  and  fine  linen 
thread;  its  designs  are  copied  from  the  best  old  patterns,  and  it 
is  frequently  very  artistic. 

Broiderie  des  Indes.  When  Indian  muslin  scarfs  with  their 
exquisite  open  work  lace  stitches  were  introduced  into  Europe, 
all  laces  made  on  a  muslin  ground  received  this  name,  even 
though  they  had  been  produced  prior  to  the  origin  of  this  fash- 
ion, some  specimens  of  this  embroidery  made  in  the  seventeenth 
and  eighteenth  centuries  looks  exactly  like  Venetian  or  Burano 
Point  lace. 


VI.— MERELTTO  A  FUSELLI  (Bobbin  Lace). 

Merletto  a  Tombola,  Pillow  Lace,  or  Merlctto  a  Piomlnm. 
This  lace  derives  its  name  from  the  word  "Piombare"  which  sig- 
nifies to  hang  vertically,  as  a  plummet.  It  can  be  made  of  cotton, 
flax,  fibre,  gold  or  silver  thread.  In  its  fabrication  a  quantity  of 
threads  are  interwoven  in  various  stitches;  the  meshes  and  open- 
ings or  agiorni  are  made  by  introducing  pins  into  the  design  and 


OLD  AND  NEW  LACE  IN  ITALY.  21 

twisting  threads  about  them  in  divers  ways,  as  in  Point  Lace,  the 
effects  produced  are  varied,  but  the  system  employed  is  always 
the  same,  as  follows:  Around  a  roller-shaped  cushion,  which  is 
stuffed  with  chopped  hay,  sawdust  or  wool,  and  is  covered  with 
some  dark  woolen  stuff,  is  carefully  stretched  the  design  which 
has  first  been  drawn  upon  stiff  paper  and  then  pricked  out  along 
the  outline  of  the  drawing.  The  cushion  is  then  placed  upon  a 
little  rest,  shaped  to  fit  it  on  the  one  side  and  to  fit  the  knees  on 
the  other,  or  it  is  placed  •  upon  a  stand  in  front  of  the  work- 
woman or  grasped  between  the  knees.  From  right  to  left  the 
thread  is  wound  rapidly  upon  the  bobbins  and  tied  at  the  top  in 
a  loop  that  permits  it  to  gradually  slip  off  the  bobbin  when 
gently  pulled,  as  occurs  continuously  in  working.  The  bobbins 
themselves  are  tiny  clyinders  of  wood  with  a  knot  at  the  top.  All 
the  threads  are  then  attached  to  hat  pins  that  have  been  stuck 
firmly  in  the  cushion  to  give  a  good  purchase  hold,  and  the  lace 
maker  is  ready  to  go  to  work.  She  begins  by  interlacing  the  bob- 
bins, which  are  used  in  pairs,  and  placing  small  pins  in  all  the  per- 
forations— u — crossing  the  bobbins  after  the  insertion  of  each  pin. 
The  bobbins  not  in  use  are  kept  from  becoming  entangled  by  large 
hat  pins  that  hold  them  back  on  either  side  of  the  design.  Some- 
times a  coarse  thread  follows  the  entire  outline  to  make  the  pattern 
more  marked.  The  throwing  back  of  certain  bobbins,  so  as  leave 
them  out  in  the  middle  of  a  flower  or  scroll,  and  then  take  them 
back  into  the  design  after  a  little  produces  the  raised  work  that  is 
called  Punto  riportato  sopra.  As  the  manufacture  of  the  lace  pro- 
ceeds (being  worked  from  left  to  right  and  right  to  left  alter- 
nately) the  furthermost  pins  are  removed,  as  required,  to  place 
in  the  holes  last  reached, thus  detaching  the  lace  from  the  cushion 
and  allowing  it  to  be  cut  off  at  any  length  desired.  A  coarse 
thread  is  sometimes  run  around  the  design  with  a  needle,  after 
it  is  finished  and  entirely  removed  from  the  cushion,  but  can  not 
equal  in  effect  that  worked  in  as  the  lace  proceeds. 

GUIPURES. 
Guipure  is  a  very  old  verb,  meaning  "  to  roll  a  thread  around 
a  card."     In  the  early  part  of  the  sixteenth  century  lace  always 
contained  a  gulp,  which  formed   the  pattern,  and   the   term    has 


22  OLD    AND    NEW    LACE    IN    ITALY. 

been  preserved.  Although  the  card,  or  parchment,  has  long 
fallen  into  disuse,  and  this  word,  in  modern  parlance,  is  applied 
to  any  lace  with  geometric  designs,  conventionalized  flowers,  or 
arabesques,  held  together  by  a  grounding  of  purled  loops  or  bars, 
in  contradistinction  to  other  laces  that  are  made  with  an  all-over 
net  ground.  As  bobbin  laces  are  easily  and  rapidly  executed — 
they  are  made  all  over  the  civilized  world — with  perpetual 
re-duplication,  and  yet  with  almost  endless  variety  in  design. 
Some  of  the  most  celebrated  among  the  guipures  are: 

Maltese  Point,  or  Punto  di  Malta  from  which  the  famous 
Genoese  guipure  was  copied;  its  designs  were  always  highly  orna- 
mental and  its  edge  was  composed  of  very  deep  indentations, 
much  resmbling  the  Moorish  decorations  of  the  Alhambra.  It 
will  be  remembered  that  flowers  and  animals  were  never  pictured 
in  early  Arabian  work;  therefore,  they  are  absent  from  all  laces 
inspired  by  the  designs  of  Mahometan  artists. 

Guipure  di  Genoa  is,  as  has  been  indicated,  the  counterpart  of 
Punto  di' Malta. 

PuntO  di  Genoa,  also  sometimes  called  Guipure  di  Milano,  so 
greatly  resembles  the  Milanese  and  Neapolitan  that  it  is  easily 
confused  with  them.  The  difference  which  renders  it  recog- 
nizable consists  in  the  scroll  work  of  the  design,  which,  in  the 
Genoese,  as  in  the  Spanish  flat  guipure,  is  composed  of  a 
broader,  more  varied  ribbon  than  in  the  Milanese  and  Neapolitan 
laces.  A  very  fine  quality  of  this  lace  is  called  Fugio  (meaning 
"I  fly"),  a  name  given  as  much  on  account  of  its  soft  airiness  as 
on  account  of  the  running  scrolls  of  which  it  is  entirely  composed. 
In  all  these  laces  a  crochet  needle  is  used  to  join  the  bars 
together  to  the  design.  In  order  to  do  this  one  thread  is  drawn 
with  it  through  a  pin-hole  in  the  lace,  thus  forming  a  loop,  and 
then  the  knot  is  closed  by  passing  the  free  bobbin  of  the  pair 
through  this  loop  and  simply  closing  the  loop  so  as  to  insure 
added  solidity  in  knotting  the  bobbins. 

Guipure  Fiamengx>  or  Flemish  Guipure,  can  not  be  dis- 
tinguished, save  by  experts,  from  Spanish  (lat  laee,  much  of  this 
having  been  made  in  Flanders,  to  furnish  the  Spanish  market. 
\  arieties  oJ  this  lace  were  made  all  over  Europe  and  were  intro- 


OLD    WD    NEW    LACE    IN    ILALY.  2J, 

duced  into  the    colonics   of   Italy,   Spain   and    Portugal    by    the 

nuns. 

Russian  lace  and  Hungarian  lace  arc  varieties  of  the  Flemish 
guipure,  which  arc  produced  by  following  the  same  principles  in 
their  manufacture,  although  the  designs  are  characteristic  ol  the 
countries  in  which  they  are  made. 

Punto  di  Ragusa  was  made  like  the  Genoese  and  Milanese  Lues, 
save  that  its  ribbon  of  bobbin  lace  was  edged  on  one  or  both 
sides  with  a  thick  cord  sometimes  increased  in  size— as  in  the 
Venetian  Point — by  winding  thread  around  horse-hair,  or  by  button- 
holing over  the  edge  of  the  braid  after  basting  a  cord  upon  it. 
Ve?ietian  and  Ragusa guipures  are  often  spoken  of  as  identical,  but 
the}-  are  quite  different  in  effect  and  execution,  the  Punto  di 
Ragusa  having  a  decidedly  Byzantine  character. 

Merletto  Greco,  or  Greek  Guipure^  has  also  one  or  two  cords 
following  the  curves  of  the  braid,  but  its  effect  is  much  less  rich, 
than  that  of  the  Punto  di  Ragusa. 

Cartisane  is  one  of  the  earliest  and  rarest  of  lace  guipures;  it 
was  made  of  a  coarse  torchon  lace  composed  by  making  four 
twists  and  then  four  plats  alternately  with  the  bobbin.  Through 
these  meshes  were  wrought  simple  and  artistic  arabesque  designs 
with  two  or  more  strips  of  thick  paper  or  vellum,  each  wound  with 
fine  silk  to  resemble  a  ribbon  and  held  in  place  by  pins  until  the 
lace  was  completed.  The  edges  of  this  primitive  trimming  were 
straight  and  unornamented.  As  this  lace  did  not  wash  well,  its 
manufacture  was  soon  abandoned. 

Punto  di  Rapallo,  or  Liguria,  is  formed  by  a  ribbon  or  braid 
of  close  lace  following  the  outline  of  the  design,  which  is  com- 
posed of  loops,  filled  in  from  time  to  time,  with  fancy  gauze 
stitches  made  by  knotting  in  extra  bobbins  with  a  crochet  needle, 
and  forming  quaint  geometrical  reliefs.  The  especial  character- 
istic of  this  lace,  is  that  the  braid  is  constantly  thrown  over  the 
piece  just  made,  thus  forming  large  loops  in  the  scrolls.  The 
parts  of  the  entire  design  are  held  together  by  purled  guipure 
"brides"  or  bars. 

Punto  a  Vermicelli  is  a  modification  of  the  Punto  di  Rapallo, 
in  which  the  braid  is  made  very  fine  and  narrow;    the   trimmings 


24  OLD  AND  NEW  LACE  IN  ITALY. 

are    extremely  complicated,   and  there  are  no  fancy  stitches  be- 
tween. 

Merletto  Poliehrome,  parti-colored  /cue,  was  invented  and  per- 
fected by  the  Jews  and  was  made  in  silk  of  different  colors  repre- 
senting fruits  and  flowers.  This  industry  has  been  revived  in 
Venice  and  carried  to  great  perfection. 


VII.— PILLOW  LACES  WITH  NET  AND  MIXED  GROUNDS. 

The  most  celebrated  of  these  laces  are  all  known  under  the 
general  name  of  Flanders  Point,  and  main*  of  them  are  as  fine  as 
the  subtlest  cobwebs. 

I  'aric  tics. 

Point  d'  Angreterre  is  a  superb  and  especially  fine  variety  of 
Brussels  pillow  lace,  with  mixed  ground.  It  is  characterized  by 
a  raised  rib  of  plaited  threads  worked  at  the  same  time  as  the 
rest  of  the  lace.  This  rib  outlines  all  the  veinings  and  other  sali- 
ent points  of  the  design,  rendering  it  beautifully  artistic.  Point 
d  Angleterre  generally  represents  garlands  and  other  floral 
designs,  and  sometimes  birds,  figures  and  architectural  details  are 
introduced.  It  owes  its  name  to  having  been  originally  made  to 
smuggle  into  England  and  to  sell  as  English  lace;  and  to  it  was 
given  a  type  entirely  different  from  the  older  Brussels  pillow  lace. 
It  was  widely  known  and  most  especially  appreciated  in  France 
and  Italy,  always  retaining,  however,  its  distinctive  appellation. 
The  meshes  of  which  its  ground  is  composed  are  sexagonal.  with 
lour  of  the  sides  consisting  of  two  threads  twisted  twice  and  two 
of  the  sides  of  four  threads  plaited  four  times. 

Mechlin,  or  Malines,  is  so  named  from  the  Flemish  town  where 
it  was  originally  manufactured.  It  has  a  very  fine  mesh  as 
ground  sexagonal  in  form,  with  four  of  its  sides  made  by  twisting 
two  threads  together  twice,  while  four  threads  are  plaited  together 
three  times  to  form  the  other  two  sides.  The  ground  is  generally 
strewn  with  tiny  spots,  flowers  or  leaves,  surrounded  by  one 
coarse,  or  several  fine  threads;  flowers  or  leaves,  or  both,  alter- 
nated, form  the  pattern  along  the  heading,  the  same  form  being 
regularly  and  closely  repeated  like  a  flower  chain,  and  the  edge 


OLD    AND    NEW    LACK    IN    ITALY.  25 

is  more  or  less  undulated  according  to  the  design  of  the  border. 
The  old  Mechlin  laces  were  sometimes  rendered  more  elaborate 
by  introducing  vases,  in  memory  of  the  Annunciation;  flowered 
hearts,  or  other  emblems,  with  openwork  centers,  but  even  these 
always  retained  the  detached  and  self-repeating  quality  which 
became  the  distinguishing  characteristic  of  this  lace  after  the 
middle  of  the  seventeenth  century. 

Old  Flemish  Point,  properly  so-called,  was  made  with  a  very 
close  ground,  resembling  squarish  cobwebs,  with  round  pin-holes 
between  the  parts  to  outline  the  design.  It  consists  of  running 
patterns  composed  of  conventionalized  fruit  and  flowers  frequently 
interlaced  with  a  ribbon  design  which  contains  open-work  and 
adds  lightness  to  the  whole  effect.  Its  edge  was  straight,  with 
tiny  purls. 

Trolle  Kant  resembles  the  old  Flemish  Point,  but  its  ground  is 
clearer,  with  rounder  webs,  and  the  designs  are  surrounded  by  a 
coarse  thread,  or  a  number  of  threads,  wound  on  one  bobbin. 
The  pattern  is  always  so  composed  as  to  combine  with  the  edge 
of  the  lace  forming  shallow  undulations  or  varied  scallops, 
finished  off  like  all  Flemish  laces — with  purls. 

Antique  Brussels  pillow  lace.  The  designs  of  this  lace 
resemble  those  of  Trolle  Kant,  but  it  has  a  net  or  tulle  ground 
composed  of  a  round  or  hexagonal  mesh,  or  a  combination  of 
both. 

Antwerp  lace  was  especially  celebrated  for  trimming  caps. 
All  the  laces  made  in  Brussels  were  imitated  in  Antwerp,  but 
this  city  also  had  an  especial  lace  of  its  own,  called  Potten  Kant, 
in  which  the  design — a  vase — was  worked  like  antique  Brussels 
lace,  except  that  the  net  of  which  the  ground  was  formed  con- 
sisted of  triangles  with  hexagonal  meshes  or  openings. 

English  trolly  lace  was  formerly  made  in  Buckinghamshire, 
and  was  copied  from  Potten  Kant,  just  as  the  baby  lace,  made  in 
Bedford.  Buckingham  and  Northampton,  was  a  modification  of 
the  Lille  lace,  and    was  sometimes  called  English   Point  de  Lille. 

Binehe  is  a  most  exquisite  cobwebby  pillow  lace  from  the 
Province  of,  Hainault,  in  Flanders.  It  contains  designs  of  flowers, 
fruits   and  figures  wrought  of  the  finest,   most  fairylike  thread, 


26  OLD    AND    NEW    LACE    IN    ITALY. 

connected  by  tiny  rounds  or  discs,  of  close  weaving,  with  mazes 
of  intertwined  threads  holding  the  whole  together,  as  though  the 
designer  had  tried  to  picture  a  Dutch  flower  garden  in  a  snow 
storm.  This  beautiful  lace  has  a  straight  edge,  and  the  finer 
qualities,  which  are  no  longer  made,  have  become  priceless. 

Closter  Spitze,  or  Convent  lace.  The  manufacture  of  this 
lace  was  originally  confined,  as  the  name  indicates,  to  convents, 
especially  to  those  in  the  north  of  Europe.  The  present  center 
of  its  production  is,  at  Bohemia.  The  treatment  of  the  design 
and  the  grounding  are  identical  with  those  of  Binche  Point;  but, 
unlike  this  lace,  it  is  coarse,  though  sheer  and  effective.  Modi- 
fied by  the  vicinity  of  Milanese  Point,  Closter  Spitze  was  also 
made  in  southern  Tyrol. 

Point  de  Bruges  was  the  name  given  to  a  lace  made  in  and 
about  that  historic  old  town.  This  much  resembles  Malinese 
lace, .but  the  arabesques  of  its  designs  were  outlined  with  several 
fine  threads,  instead  of  one  coarse  thread;  and  flowers,  filled  in 
with  open  work,  were  introduced  with  pleasing  variety.  This 
lace,  which  was  very  fine  and  sheer,  was  also  made  in  silk,  and 
its  width  did  not  usually  exceed  three  to  five  inches.  Like  the 
Antwerp  lace,  it  was  used  chiefly  for  cap. trimmings. 

Point  de  Paris.  This  is  the  name  by  which  is  known  the 
exquisite  pillow  lace  made  in  the  vicinity  of  Paris  during  the 
eighteenth  century.  It  is  an  extremely  fine  and  dainty  lace  with 
beautiful  garlands  trailing  over  the  tulle  and  edging  the  flounces. 
The  tulle  of  this  lace  is  called  ''champ  double"  (double  field  ),  and 
its  mesh  is  round  and  strong,  though  very  fine  and  is  produced  by 
doubling  the  quantity  of  threads,  using  eight  instead  of  four. 
Point  de  Paris  is  as  fine  in  quality  and  execution  as  old  Brussels 
lace,  but  it  resembles  in  appearance  the  richest  laces  of  Bruges. 

Valenciennes  Lace  is  known  the  world  over  wherever  lace  is 
used  on  linen.  It  is  made  with  a  solid  square  or  diamond  shaped 
mesh,  that  is  platted  with  four  threads  four  lines  on  each  side. 
It  has  a  somewhat  stiff  flower  or  .arabesque  border  made  in  close 
stitch  along  the  edge,  which  is  finished  off  with  purls.  The 
antique  Point  de  Valenciennes  which  was  made  at  the  French  town 
of  that  name  was  the  most  perfect  pillow  lace  ever  manufactured 


OLD  AND  NEW  LACE  IN  ITALY.  2*J 

and  of  fabulous  price.  It  is  composed  of  the  finest  thread  as  yet 
spun  in  Europe,  valued  at  about  S4,ooo  a  pound,  and  is  almost 
indestructible.  Some  of  the  present,  machine-made  laces  are 
copied  from  the  most  graceful  of  these  antique  designs,  which 
much  resemble  those  of  Point  de  Paris;  but  the  manufacture  of 
this  lace  in  the  town  of  Valenciennes  itself,  has  ceased  entirely. 
The  fabrics  now  sold  under  the  name  of  Valenciennes  are  manu- 
factured in  Belgium,  especially  in  the  neighborhood  of  Ypres. 
They  arc  also  produced  in  large  quantities  in  Normandy  and 
other  Provinces  of  France,  in  England  and  Ireland  and  in  Naples. 

"Point  de  Lille,"  so-called  from  a  town  in  northern  France, 
is  a  fine  lace  with  an  anology  to  that  of  Malines  and  also  to  certain 
varieties  of  Point  <f  Esprit.  The  old  English  lace  called  New- 
port-Paguel  strongly  resembles  it. 

"Chantilly,"  is  a  silk  or  thread  pillow  lace,  made  with  either 
a  coarse  or  a  fine  tulle  ground  produced  without  plaiting,  by 
simply  twisting  the  threads  together,  and  is  strewn  with  close  and 
varied  flower  designs  or  conventional  patterns  surrounded  by  a 
coarse  thread;  the  English  lace  of  Lyme-Regis  somewhat  resem- 
bles it  though  it  is  more  ordinary.  Since  the  revival  of  the  manu- 
facture of  lace  on  a  large  scale  in  France  every  kind  of  silk  or 
thread  lace  is  made,  or  its  production  abandoned,  as  fashion 
dictates  in  the  different  lace  centers  of  that  country  such  as 
Normandy,  Brittany,  Surillac,  Auvergne,  and  la  Tourraine.  To 
these  productions  modified  by  the  prevailing  fashion,  the  manu- 
facturers give  fancy  names,  so  as  to  attract  the  attention  of  the 
general  public,  which  is  known  to  prefer  novelty  to  a  strictly 
beautiful  although  old-fashioned  object.  For  an  example,  Cluny 
which  is  so  often  quoted,  has  never  existed  as  a  distinctive  lace. 
No  lace  whatever  has  been  manufactured  within  the  memory  of 
man  inside  the  walls  which  bear  that  name,  for  Cluny  is  an  old 
castle  in  the  heart  of  Paris  which  has  been  turned  into  a  Museum 
of  Industrial  Art,  and  some  clever  manufacturer,  having  arranged 
a  fresh  and  effective  combination  in  guipure  inspired  by  speci- 
mens of  the  rare  old  Genoese  point  existing  in  the  museum's  rich 
collection,  gave  this  name  to  his  production,  so  as  to  attract  the 
shopping   public   by   means   of   that   charm    which   clings   to  the 


28  OLD  AND  KEW  LACE  IN  ITALY. 

name  Cluny,  knowing  that  the  word  would  conjure  up  the  his- 
torical walls  of  the  quaint  castellated  museum,  and  the  memories 
of  mediaeval  Paris,  near  to  the  heart  of  every  well-to-do  French- 
man. All  narrow  edgings  were  formerly  called  "Passements"  The 
name  originated  in  Northern  Italy  and  passed  into  France  where 
it  was  used  until  the  seventeenth  century  as  a  general  designation 
for  what  we  call  lace  and  guimp,  although  after  that  period  it 
became  confined  to  guimp  trimmings.  The  most  celebrated  of 
the  ancient  passements  were  of  gold  and  silver  and  clinquant 
(plated  copper),  and  were  made  in  France  and  Spain  and  Italy. 
The  great  centers,  however,  from  which  metal  laces  were  shipped 
all  over  Europe  were  Genoa,  Milan  and  Florence.  Some  of  these 
were  most  sumptuous  in  appearance  and  of  surprising  width  con- 
sidering the  costliness  of  the  raw  material.  Frequently  colored 
silk  was  mixed  with  the  other  threads  to  facilitate  the  execution 
and  diminish  the  cost,  without  destroying  the  general  effect. 

"La  Bisette"  was  a  coarse,  narrow  heavy,  unbleached  lace, 
without  any  distinguishing  characteristics,  used  by  the  middle 
classes  in  France  and  Belgium  during  the  seventeenth  century. 
"La  Guense,"  beggar  lace,  was  a  great  favorite  in  1700;  it  was 
also  unbleached,  but  was  sheer  and  narrow,  with  a  coarse  net 
ground  and  graceful  pattern. 

"La  Campane"  was  a  very  fine,  narrow,  white  or  unbleached 
pillow  lace,  used  for  the  edging  of  caps  or  broad  strips  of  straight 
edged  lace.  In  the  Italian  word  "campane"  (bells)  is  to  be  sought 
the  origin  of  its  name;  because  the  teeth  of  which  it  is  composed 
formed  a  bell  shaped  edge  to  all  it  trimmed. 

"La  Mignonette"  is  so  called  from  "mignon"  meaning  small 
and  graceful.  This  lace  was  also  frequently  called  "Thread  Blonde." 
It  consists  in  a  fine  thread  edging  composed  of  light  transparent 
meshes. 

"Blonde"  was  originally  a  narrow  lace,  which  took  its  name 
from  the  pale  yellow  or  blond  tint  of  the  unbleached  silk  of 
which  it  was  composed.  The  simplicity  of  this  lace  soon  disap- 
peared owing  to  the  introduction  of  rich  designs  in  bleached  and 
dyed  silks  frequently  varied  by  gold  and  silver  threads.  Modern 
blonde  is  more  Largely  manufactured   in  France   and   Genoa  than 


OLD  AND  NEW  LACE  IN  ITALY.  20, 

in  Spain.  It  is  a  wide  round-meshed,  sheer  silk  lace,  with  de- 
signs composed  of  large,  flat  surfaces  made  in  a  close  stitch,  sur- 
rounded by  a  coarse  silk  thread.  In  the  more  ordinary  qualities, 
the  design  is  embroidered  by  hand  upon  machine-made  silk 
tulle  and  then  filled  in  by  darning;  it  is  also  very  easily  imitated 
entirely  by  machinery  and  sold  very  cheaply.  At  one  time 
blonde  was  extensively  made  in  Venice,  but  this  branch  of  in- 
dustry has  died  out  there  since  the  revival  in  the  production  of 
thread  lace  and  guipures  at  Palestrina.  Genoa  and  Cantu  are 
the  actual  centers  of  its  manufacture  in  Italy,  and  our  exhibit 
contains  some  beautiful  modern  specimens  from  the  provinces 
of  Liguria  and  Lombardy. 

"Point  d'  Esprit,  Brittany  Lace  or  Embroidered  or  Tambour  tulle 
lace,"  was  made  in  large  quantities  in  Devonshire,  England,  in 
Brittany  and  around  Genoa,  where  its  production  continues.  The 
bands  of  embroidered  tulle  which  still  trim  the  caps  of  the  good 
wives  in  the  little  town  of  Tulle,  in  France,  are  made  entirely  by 
bobbins  and  have  given  their  name  to  the  round  mesh  ground  of 
every  variety  of  lace.  Many  very  clever  lace  makers  formerly 
spent  their  lives  doing  nothing  else  but  producing  with  a  marvel- 
ous perfection  these  patternless  bands  ready  for  other  hands  to 
embroider,  but  after  the  introduction  of  machine-made  tulle  its 
manufacture  no  longer  furnished  a  means  of  livelihood,  and  the 
poor  workers  were  forced  to  seek  fresh  occupations.  On  the 
band  of  tulle,  known  to  commerce  as  "footing,"  is  embroidered  (in 
fine  darning  stitch)  charming  flowers  with  open-work  hearts  or 
small  detached,  conventionalized  designs;  the  ground  is  also  fre- 
quently strewn  with  little,  embroidered  dots,  to  which  the  lace 
owes  the  name  of  "Point  d'  Esprit,"  or  u  Spirit  point"  so  often 
given  to  it.  To  complete  the  lace  a  coarse  thread  is  drawn 
around  the  embroidery,  forming  an  outline  to  the  flowers  and 
stems  and  leaves.  The  edges  of  the  antique  Brittany  laces  are 
left  without  ornamentation,  although  the  modern  qualities  and 
machine-made  varieties  are  generally  ended  off  with  scallops 
or  teeth  in  a  hole  stitch.  From  it  is  copied  the  common  em- 
broidered cotton  tulle  made  by  machinery  in  enormous  quantities 


30  OLD  AND  NEW  LACE  IN  ITALY. 

that  drugs  the  market  and  is  very  pretty  for  window  curtains  and 
furniture,  although  its  use  on  clothes  is  decidedly  inartistic. 

Punto  di  Milano,  Milanese  point  and  Punto  di  Napolt,  Neapol- 
itan point,  are  different  names  for  a  lace  with  round  mesh  ground, 
so  named  from  the  Italian  cities  of  Milan  and  Naples  which  were 
the  two  great  centers  of  its  production.  This  lace  has  always 
been  a  favorite,  as  it  washes  well  and  is  excessively  strong,  and 
its  manufacture  has  spread  to  all  the  countries  of  Europe.  It 
resembles  Genoese  pillow  lace,  having  the  same  scrolls  and 
flowers  formed  by  a  ribbon  in  close  stitch,  with  a  mesh  or  tulle 
ground,  whereas  the  Genoese  lace  is  held  together  by  bars. 

The  Neapolitan  Point  has  a  much  rounder  mesh  than  the 
Milanese,  but  the  character  of  the  design  is  what  most  distinctly 
indicates  in  what  part  of  Italy  the  lace  was  made.  This  same 
rule  also  applies  to  all  Europe,  for  although  in  the  coarser  quali- 
ties the  technicalities  constituting  a  lace  named  after  a  special 
town  were  adopted  as  a  standard  for  the  same  kind  of  lace  pro- 
duced in  other  places,  in  the  finer  varieties  transplanting,  even  to 
the  nearest  village  radically  altered  the  quality  of  the  lace. 

Torchon  Lace  (literally  dish  cloth  lace).  Torchon  is  the 
French  generic  term  by  which  the  following  ordinary  pillow- 
laces  used  on  personal  and  household  linen,  are  commercially 
known  Wirthsehafts-Spitze,  or  household  lace,  is  the  name 
applied  to  it  in  Germany.  Merletto  di  Cantu  di  Palestrina, 
degli  Abruzzi,  etc.,  is  the  name  by  which  it  is  called  in  Italy,  after 
the  great  centers  of  its  production.  It  is  an  ordinary  pillow- 
lace  with  a  net  ground,  and  is  universally  used  on  underwear, 
household  and  church  linen;  it  is  worked  straight  along  like 
weaving  without  the  assistance  of  a  crochet  needle,  as  in  Milanese 
Point  and  in  the  Guipures — so  that  it  is  in  reality  the  simplest 
and  purest  of  bobbin  laces.  Its  especial  qualifications  for  general 
use  are  its  great  strength,  variety  of  pattern  in  endless  geometri- 
cal combinations  and  its  low  price. 

Machine  made  imitation  of  torchon  costs  two-thirds  the  price 
of  real  torchon  and  is  very  easily  torn,  whereas  the  real  torchon 
outlasts  the  garments  on  which  it  is  placed  and  is  therefore  the 
cheapest    pretty    edging    that    is    manufactured.     Owing   to  the 


OLD    AND    NEW    LACE    IN    ITALY.  3 1 

facility  of  communication  and  the  exigencies  of  fashion  the  same 
designs  arc  adopted  in  France,  Belgium,  Bohemia,  Portugal, 
Ireland,  England,  India,  Colombo,  Saxony,  German}-,  and  many 
other  countries,  as  are  made  all  over  Italy.  A  few  of  the  most 
distinctive  varieties  which  may  interest  the  reader  here  follow, 
those  which  coincide  in  design  being  placed  together. 

Dalecarlie,  a  Swedish  bobbin  lace  resembles  that  of  offidca, 
which  is  a  variety  of  Italian  lace  that  is  made  in  the  Province 
of  the  Marche,  as  well  as  the  common  Abruzzi  lace  These  laces 
are  all  worked  without  any  drawing,  the  rude  design  being 
produced  by  skipping  the  pin  holes  in  the  geometrically  per- 
forated cardboard.  The  pattern  thus  produced  is  surrounded  by 
a  heavy  thread  and  composed  of  a  close  stitch  worked  between 
the  meshes  of  the  coarse  net  ground. 

Sometimes  the  heavy  thread  is  left  out,  this  work  is  the  last 
remaining  tradition  of  a  most  exquisitely  fine  pillow  lace,  which 
was  made  a  century  ago  in  these  provinces.  Lately  in  Sweden  the 
manufacture  of  lace  has  been  protected  and  the  workwomen  have 
been  directed  with  loving  care  with  the  happiest  results,  whereas 
the  workers  in  the  Marche  and  Abruzzi  are  entirely  neglected, 
although  with  a  small  capital  in  ready  money  and  a  little  patience 
this  industry  could  be  revived  with  great  profit  to  the  capitalist 
and  enormous  benefit  to  the  surrounding  country  which  is 
excessively  miserable  and  poor — the  women  being  ready  and 
willing  to  work  but  requiring  instruction  and  direction. 

Mediaeval  household  lace,  was  made  in  most  of  the  Spanish, 
Dutch,  Danish,  German  and  Italian  provinces.  It  ended  in  a 
straight  edged  finished  off  with  purls,  and  the  design  was  often 
so  thick  with  inter-laced  patches  of  close  work,  that  the  net 
ground  was  almost  or  wholly  suppressed  so  that  it  appears  like 
drawn  work  executed  in  a  fancy  pattern  upon  coarse  linen.  The 
open  work  is  left  by  twirling  two  or  four  threads  several  times 
together  and  by  the  holes  in  which  the  pins  following  the  outline 
of  the  drawing  have  been  pricked. 

Retieella  a  Fuselli  is  a  mediaeval  pillow  lace  which  is  an  exact 
copy  of  the  celebrated  Punto  Greco,  Punto  Tagtiato  and  Retieella. 
In  certain  museums   I   have  seen  the  finer  examples  placed  and 


32  OLD  AND  NEW  LACE  IN  ITALY. 

classified  with  the  needle  laces  which  bear  the  above  names,  no 
one  having  observed  under  the  microscope  the  difference  in  the 
execution  of  laces,  and  it  was  used  extensively  in  household  linen 
with  most  happy  effect  to  replace  the  above  named  more  expen- 
sive and  tedious  points. 

Madeira  lace  is  composed  of  a  close  stitch  without  a  regular 
set  ground  which  is  instead  formed  of  varied  webs  and  open 
spaces,  and  is  varied  by  oriental  wheel-like  designs  which  are 
very  artistic  and  pleasing  to  the  eye. 

Ceylon  laces,  as  also  those  from  the  Mediterranean  islands 
have  a  mediaeval,  charming  effect  sometimes  resembling  the 
above,  at  others  seeming  counterparts  of  certain   Maltese  laces. 

Sicilian  Torchon  has  no  design  drawn  upon  the  parchment. 
The  peasant  lace-maker  follows  the  dictates  of  her  fancy,  forming 
bizare  combinations  of  webs  and  nets  by  introducing  the  pin,  or 
skipping  the  holes  which  are  punctured  at  regular  intervals  all 
over  the  strip  of  parchment  after  it  has  been  firmly  sewed  upon 
the  cushion  or  "  balon."  Sicily  was  formerly  celebrated  for  its 
gold  and  metal  laces,  but  the  production  of  these  has  nearly  died 
out;  some  philanthropic  souls  are  now  trying  to  organize  and 
procure  a  revival  of  this  industry  so  as  to  give  a  means  of  support 
to  the  women  of  Palermo  and  other  populous  centers.  At 
Messina  many  varieties  of  old  Sicilian  lace  are  reproduced  with 
great  exactness. 

At  present  every  variety  of  fancy  work  receives  its  own  dis- 
tinctive appellation,  and  all  the  old  stitches  that  enter  into  its 
composition  are  decked  out  with  new  and  attractive  names  and 
in  the  past  in  the  same  way,  the  laces  made  in  every  town,  ham- 
let, castle  or  cottage,  by  young  and  old,  rich  and  poor  alike  re- 
ceived especial  denominations  applied  to  the  designs  and, 
stitches  according  to  the  dictates  of  the  chief  workwoman's 
imagination. 

Brief  as  is  this  introduction,  it  describes  one  hundred  and 
twenty-two  of  the  principal  kinds  of  lace  and  yet  not  a  quarter 
of  the  appellations  by  which  these  laces  and  their  varieties  are 
known  in  different  countries  have  been  mentioned,  although  the 
reader's  patience  and  memory  have  already  been  severely  taxed 


OLD    AND    NEW     I  ACE    IN    ITALY. 

Multiplying  one  hundred  and  twenty-two  by  lour  and  the  pro- 
duct by  twenty  (the  average  of  nine  thousand  seven  hundred  and 
sixty  is  produced,  a  sum  representing  the  names  of  individual 
stitches,  which,  for  brevity  and  to  avoid  tedium  have  been  care- 
fully suppressed. 

Many  laces,  however,  have  forty  or  fifty  different  terms 
applied  to  their  component  parts,  each  given  because  ol  the 
introduction  of  some  different  stitch  or  combination,  and  the 
stitches  composing  even  the  .narrowest  torchons  are  six  or  seven 
in  number  so  that  the  general  average  given  above  is  very  low- 
should  one  add  the  terms  applied  in  different  places  to  the 
material  and  implements  employed  in  the  manufacture  of  lace, 
the  sum  would  become  very  long  and  wearisome  and  the  enum- 
eration of  the  terms  would  form  a  good-sized  vocabulary.  We 
have  drawn  attention  to  these  figures  simply  that  they  may  serve 
as  a  refutation  to  a  general  and  erroneous  impression  common  to 
many  highly  cultured  people  that  lace-making  is  only  worthy  to 
be  classed  among  the  secondary  industries  instead  of  standing 
high  among  the  textile  and  decorative  arts  which  adorn  our 
homes. 

If  this  preparatory  study  has  appeared  long  it  has  assumed  its 
present  form  in  order  that  the  History  of  Line,  which  follows  and 
describes  our  exhibit  at  the  Columbian  Exposition,  may  not  be 
full  of  wearying  technicalities  and  voluminous  notes. 

We  trust  that  the  following  chapters  will  justify  the  course 
adopted.  If  not,  the  fault  lies  in  the  inexperience  of  the  narra- 
tor and  not  in  the  lack  of  interest  and  variety  to  be  found  in  fol- 
lowing through  the  ages  the  development  of  this  graceful, 
refined  and  ornamental  branch  of  Industrial  Art. 


34 


OLD  AND  NEW  LACE  IN  ITALY. 


PART  II. 


The  Birth  of  the  Textile  Arts  and  the  Origin  of  Lace. 

Man  loves  ornament;  had  he  existed  when  the  earth  was  with- 
out form  and  void,  it  might  have  been  different,  for  first  impres- 
sions are  indelible;  but,  when  his  mind  opened  to  look  about  him 
and  observe,  ornament  attracted  his  attention  on  every  side. 
Cradled  in  the  lap  of  a  young  world,  he  saw  fair  Nature  robed 
in  a  many  hued  garment,  covered  with  reliefs  of  shrubs  and  trees 
checkered  by  cunning  traceries  of  branches  and  leaves  and  their 
shadows  dancing  in  the  sunshine.  Her  mantle  was  trimmed  with 
open  work  borders  of  meadow-land,  fretted  with  great  patches  of 
parti-colored  flowers,  while  dainty  fringes  of  interlaced  ferns  and 
grasses  nodded  on  the  edges  of  the  silvery  water  courses.  When 
the  winter  came  Nature  prepared  to  sleep  and  changed  these 
robes  for  a  white  sheet  of  dazzling  snow  diversified  with  wond- 
rous interlaced  patterns  worked  by  the  magic  touch  of  frost  in 
ice  and  rime.  Then  for  the  first  time  man  saw,  mirrored  in  God's 
handiwork,  the  exquisite  designs  which  in  the  future  ages  his  de- 
scendants were  destined  to  copy,  producing  lace.  The  mind  of 
primitive  humanity  was,  however,  undeveloped  as  that  of  a  young 
child  and  could  not  analyze  the  impressions  received  nor  even  re- 
alize their  existence,  and  yet  in  making  for  itself  rude  coverings 
of  skins  and  plaited  grasses  or  untensils  of  bone,  it  copied  sur- 
rounding objects  groping  darkly  for  that  with  which  to  adorn 
its  possessions.  When  we  look  into  the  mist}*  vistas  through 
which  wandered  prehistoric  man  we  find  the  traces  of  his  foot- 
steps on  the  rock}-  paths  of  the  Stone  age,, marked  with  curious 
carvings  of  zigzags  curves  and  animal  designs. 

Nature,  well  pleased  at  the  compliment  paid  her  in  these  early 
efforts,  covered  them  over  with  dust  and  earth,  hiding  them  away 
until  the  time  when  mankind  should  be  so  developed  as  to  appre- 


OLD    ANT)    NEW    LACE    IN    ITALY.  55 

ciate  the  value  of  these  records  of  his  past,  just  as  a  fond  mother 
after  long  years,  draws  from  some  private  recess  a  carefully 
treasured  object,  rudely  executed,  and  shows  it  to  her  grown-up 
son,  to  prove  to  him,  how  clever  he  already  was  at  the  time  he 
thinks  he  must  have  been  only  a  stupid,  useless  burden  on  her 
care. 

At  the  earliest  moment  of  his  existence,  man  must  have  felt 
the  necessity  of  some  means  by  which  to  snare  birds  and  beasts 
and  fish  for  food,  and  observing  how  they  were  sometimes  caught 
in  the  tangled  weeds  and  thickets,  he  invented  the  twisting  of 
grasses  and  fibres  into  ropes,  which  when  knotted  rudely  to- 
gether formed  primitive  nets. 

Naturally,  the  first  ornaments  for  the  person  and  attire  were 
the  trophies  of  prowess  such  as  boar's  teeth,  tusks,  etc.,  worn 
strung  together  as  necklaces,  bracelets,  etc.,  and  on  the  garments 
they  consisted  in  fringes  formed  by  the  long  hair  of  furs.  These 
all  served  as  the  models  from  which  were  copied  the  first  trim- 
mings on  rude  textiles. 

The  Lake  Dwellers. 

In  Europe,  the  earliest  race  of  which  we  know  anything  defi- 
nite is  that  of  the  Lake  Dwellers,  whose  industries  are  most  in- 
terestingly illustrated  by  the  fragments  of  their  utensils,  which 
are  found  in  the  great  bogs  and  lakes  of  Switzerland.  They  ex- 
isted from  the  time  of  the  Troglodites  through  the  Stone  and  far 
into  the  Bronze  age,  some  say  even  into  the  Age  of  Iron,  al- 
though they  became  extinct  before  the  invasion  of  their  country 
by  the  Romans. 

In  Asia  we  find  the  earliest  artistic,  ornate  textiles  among  the 
Assyrians  and  the  Indians,  and  in  Africa,  among  the  Egyptians, 
but  as  the  foundation  of  Art  (as  we  understand  the  term)  and 
the  unbroken  chain  of  evidence  in  regard  to  its  history  is  to  be 
found  in  their  monuments  and  sepulchers,  we  will  examine  the 
Stone  age  in  Europe  first  as  illustrated  by  Lake  Dwellers, 
and  then  turning  to  Assyria  and  Egypt  for  instruction,  only 
leave  them  when  their  arts  have  accomplished  the  civilization  of 
the  peninsulas  of  Europe  and  the  northern  coast  of  the 
Mediterranean. 


30  OLD  AND  NEW  LACE  IN  ITALY. 

One  can  understand  that  in  the  dry  atmosphere  and  sand  of 
Egypt,  delicate  objects  like  textiles  would  resist  the  wear  and 
tear  of  centuries;  although  marvelous,  it  must  ever  seem  to 
touch  objects  produced  by  human  skill  thousands  of  years 
ago;  but  it  is  nothing  short  of  a  miracle  that  beneath  the  peat 
and  mud  and  slush,  frozen  and  thawed  alternately  for  ages 
beyond  the  memory  of  man,  such  perishable  things  as  cords  and 
stuffs  made  of  a  curious  flax  developed  from  the  wild  variety 
which  is  native  to  the  west  coast  of  the  Mediterranean,  prepared 
and  spun  as  it  would  be  by  a  peasant  of  today,  have  remained  to 
give  us  proofs — meager  though  they  must  perforce  be — of  this 
early  race  of  Europeans.  Besides  the  baskets  that  were  most 
artistically  woven  of  bark,  fibre  or  sedges,  and  the  fishing  nets 
made  of  coarse  linen  or  fibre  twine  knotted  into  as  regular 
meshes  as  if  produced  today,  especially  interesting  for  our 
branch  of  study  are  the  remnants  of  stuffs,  and  the  bone,  horn 
and  bronze  needles  and  crochet  hooks  used  for  making  nets  and 
knotting  fringes  into  the  edge  of  the  textiles. 

Samples  of  all  these  objects  are  exhibited  on  the  Revolving 
screen,  which  serves  to  illustrate  through  them  the  origin  and 
history  of  lace,  whilst  the  voluminous  objects  are  placed  around 
the  walls  in  the  glass  cases  nearest  to  the  screen. 

Nos.  i  A  and  I  B  are  illustrations  made  from  textiles  found  at 
Robenhausen  by  Herr  K.  Forrer  and  Herr  H.  Messikommer  and 
are  taken  by  kind  permission  of  the  authors  from  an  interesting 
pamphlet  on  the  subject  of  Lake  Dwellings  published  by  them, 
and  entitled  Prehistorische  Varia  aus  dem  Antique!,  special  Zeit- 
scrift  fur  Vorgeschichte,  Zurig,  1889. 

No.  67  represents  a  twisted  hank  of  flax. 

No.  74  represents  a  skein  of  twine. 

No.  63  represents  a  tassel  made  of  twine. 

No.  70  represents  a  piece  of  rope. 

Nos.  68,69,  73  and  75  represent  basket  work  of  woven  sedges, 
straw  and  woody  fibre. 

Nos.  59,  60  and  61  represent  different  qualities  of  net. 

Nos.  62  and  71  represent  textiles,  with  and   without  selvedge. 

Nos.  72  and  73  represent  embroidered  textiles. 


OLD  AND  NEW  LACE  IN  ITALY.  $7 

Nos.  94  and  65  represent  textiles  edged  with  fringes;  though 
this  variety  is  not  reproduced  here;  these  fringes  were  frequently 
twisted  together  and  knotted  at  the  ends. 

No.  70  A  represents  a  textile  with  passementerie  fringe. 

No.  1  C  is  a  real  piece  of  the  coarse  basket  plaiting  found  in 
Robenhausen. 

No.  1  D  contains  two  bits  of  loom-woven  textiles  from 
Robenhausen. 

When  Ilerr  Messikommer's  father  found  the  first  fringed 
stuff  at  Robenhausen  in  1857,  he  showed  it  to  an  expert,  who 
said  it  was  modern  Paris  passementerie  work,  but  soon  some 
other  pieces  were  found  in  the  same  excavations  and  in  the 
midst  of  surroundings  which  furnished  positive  proofs  of  their 
authenticity  as  work  of  the  ancient  Lake  Dwellers. 

Simple  but  practical  weavers'  frames,  thread  and  twine,  which 
serve  now  for  sewing  sails,  up  to  the  dimensions  of  large  cords, 
have  been  found  in  skeins  or  already  worked  into  stuffs,  nets, 
tassels  or  fringes;  also  a  peculiar,  very  strong  material,  plaited 
instead  of  woven  out  of  course  twine,  has  been  found  which 
might  have  served  as  a  kind  of  sail  cloth. 

At  Ingenhausen  in  1882  were  found  the  embroideries  illus- 
trated on  the  screen — the  designs  of  which  may  have  served  as 
models  tor  the  perfected  ornaments  of  the  Bronze  age.  The 
rarity  of  these  objects  is  explained  by  their  only  being  found 
among  the  remains  of  dwellings  destroyed  by  fire  in  windless 
weather,  combined  with  circumstances  which  would  cause  inflam- 
mable stuffs  to  drop  into  the  water  uncharred,  when  the  floor 
beneath  them  and  the  roof  above  were  reduced  to  the  fine,  close- 
packed  ashes  adapted  to  preserving  textiles  from  destruction  by 
insects  or  by  the  waves.  To  form  a  better  idea  of  the  men  and 
women  among  the  Lake  dwellers  we  must  look  for  the  race, 
which  at  present  best  illustrates  the  savage  life  of  the  past,  and, 
allowing  for  the  influences  of  climate  and  contact  with  the  Arabs, 
and  the  Europeans,  it  appears  that  Central  Africa  can  furnish 
the  information  we  desire. 

Card  II,  A,  B,  C,  D  Screen. 

Card  II  shows  four  sketches  of  savage  dwellings. 


38  OLD    AND    NEW    LACE    IN    ITALY. 

A  II  represents  a  Lake  Dwellers'  settlement,  reconstructed 
according  to  the  opinion  of  one  of  the  most  eminent  professors 
of  archaeology. 

B  II  represents  a  granary  of  the  Babusesse  tribe  as  illustrated 
in  Henry  Stanley's  latest  work  on  Africa. 

C  II  represents  part  of  a  Bongos  village  in  Africa. 

D  II  represents  a  group  of  Lake-dwelling  aborigines  in  New- 
Guinea. 

The  Africans  use  boats  hollowed  out  of  trees  as  did  the  Lake- 
dwellers,  their  pottery  has  the  same  ornamentation  and  is  baked 
in  the  sun  as  was  that  of  the  Lake  dwellers;  they  live  in  settle- 
ments instead  of  following  a  nomadic  life,  and  have  many  other 
customs  in  common,  therefore  in  studying  their  rude  arts  and 
divisions  of  labor,  we  may  hope  to  ascertain  much  about  the 
daily  life  of  the  Lake  dwellers  at  the  time  of  their  greatest  de- 
velopment. All  through  the  interior  of  Africa  and  in  the  basins 
of  the  Upper  and  the  Lower  Agowe  and  the  Congo  the  woman 
does  all  the  hard  work,  while  the  man  reserves  to  himself  what 
might  be  called  the  amusing  occupations.  He  goes  to  the  two  big 
fishing  reunions  that  are  held  every  year  at  the  time  when  the 
water  in  the  great  rivers  is  at  its  lowest,  he  snares  birds  and  ani- 
mals for  food  and  clothing,  he  goes  out  to  the  hunts  and  battles, 
to  war  and  to  plunder,  and  thoroughly  enjoys  the  excitement  of 
this  life,  whilst  the  woman  remains  at  home  and  busies  herself  in 
a  modest  daily  round  that  is  startling  in  its  fatiguing  variety. 
Besides  the  care  of  the  children  and  of  the  domestic  animals,  she 
does  all  the  field  and  farm  work,  cultivates  the  cereals,  cuts  the 
wood  and  fishes  along  the  smaller  streams.  She  gathers  up  and 
.carries  on  her  back  all  the  products  of  her  labor,  and  the  fruits 
from  the  plantations  that  are  often  at  great  distances  from  the 
village;  arrived  at  her  home  she  helps  to  tidy  up  the  village,  and 
tlnn  instead  of  retiring  she  grinds  the  flour,  cooks  the  meals  and 
still  finds  time  to  weave  artistic  palm  mats  and  sheetings  and  to 
model  and  to  bake  the  simple  pottery  that  is  needed  for  domestic 

use. 

The  smiths  and  the  weavers  of  fine  "  rafia  "  cloths  are  only 


OLD    AND    NEW    LACE    IN    ITALY.  39 

men  especially  apprenticed  to  a  trade,  who  remain  always  faithful 
to  their  tools. 

The  industries  in  which  savage  man  indulges.  When  at  home, 
for  he  never  works,  are  the  making  of  fishing  and  hunting  nets, 
the  sewing  together  with  great  neatness  of  the  squares  of  rafia 
produced  by  the  professional  weavers.  The  making  of  "puka  " 
(or  bags)  in  fine  needle  work,  ornamental  carving,  and  the 
shaping  and  polishing  of  the  wooden  parts  of  weapons.  When 
necessary  he  also  attends  to  the  construction  of  pirogues  and 
huts,  the  only  two  of  all  these  occupations  that  are  really  hard 
work. 

Card  III  contains  two  pen  and  ink  sketches  that  were  made 
on  the  back  of  an  English  cotton  goods  label  by  my  late  brother- 
in-law,  Giacomo  di  Brazza,  who  spent  several  years  traveling  in 
Africa  with  Cavaliere  Peule,  on  an  expedition  of  research  which 
was  commanded  by  his  brother,  the  celebrated  African  explorer, 
Pierre  de  Brazza,  actually  governor  of  the  French  Congo. 

Ill  i  is  a  sketch  of  a  wig  or  hat  worn  by  a  Batake  chief  ;  it 
is  composed  of  fringes  and  cords  in  pineapple  fibre,  dyed  black, 
and  knotted  like  the  above-mentioned  "  Parisian  passemente  "  of 
the  Lake  dwellers. 

Ill  2  represents  a  fringed  square  of  woven  rafia  (of  the 
natural  color  of  raw  silk),  such  as  is  worn  by  the  Batake  as  a 
kind  of  cap  or  head-handkerchief. 

No.  IV  is  a  piece  of  rafia  with  knotted  fringe,  which  has 
been  placed  in  the  glass  cases  with  the  following  voluminous 
pieces  of  African  lace  kindly  lent  by  Cavaliere  Peule. 

No.  5  is  a  "puka"  (bag  or  pocket)  made  with  the  nee- 
dle in  a  curious,  complicated  lace  stitch.  These  pockets  are 
everywhere  used  in  the  Upper  and  Lower  Ogowe  and  in  many 
parts  of  the  Congo  country;  the  band  or  handle  is  slipped  over 
the  arm  and  shoulder-blade  with  the  bag  hanging  underneath  the 
arm-pit,  and  these  sacks  serve  as  pockets  as  well  as  traveling  bags 
in  that  land  where  clothing  is  too  scant  to  furnish  a  fold  in  which 
to  tuck  away  the  smallest  object.  They  arc  more  or  less  ornate, 
according  to  the  fancy  of  the  artificer,  and  a  self-respecting 
Agowean  would  not  be  found  without  one  in  his  possession  if  he 


40  OLD  AND  NEW  LACE  IN  ITALY. 

could  make,  buy,  borrow  or  steal  it.  Our  particular  "puka"  is  the 
work  of  a  member  of  the  Abomba  tribe,  which  is  also  distin- 
guished for  its  tonsorial  artists.  These  produce  marvelous  effects 
with  the  pates  of  their  fellow-citizens,  for  they  plait  and  clip  and 
shave  the  woolly  hair  into  most  complicated  and  ornate  head- 
dresses adorned  with  gew-gaws,  and  bisected  with  little  shaved 
lines  and  spots  which  meander  among  the  knobs  of  wool  and 
cause  their  heads  to  resemble  relief  maps  of  their  own  dark  con- 
tinent. But  to  return  to  the  puka  exhibited,  which  is  very  com- 
modious, elastic  and  decidedly  stylish,  with  its  adornment  of 
elephant  bristles  and  the  large  iron  bell  that  has  charmed  the 
tedium  of  many  a  long  journey  with  its  clatter;  these  pockets 
are  made  of  fine  twine  manufactured  from  the  leaves  of  the  pine- 
apple plant.  The  workman  cuts  the  leaves  into  strips  about  half 
an  inch  in  width  and  passes  these  between  his  thumb  and  a  sharp 
knife,  thus  most  daintily  removing  all  the  leafy  part  that  covers 
the  fibre  of  the  plant;  then  he  rolls  the  fibre  into  a  fine  double 
twine  a  couple  of  yards  in  length  by  rubbing  it  carefully  with  the 
palm  of  his  hand  on  his  leg  above  the  knee  until  it  becomes  per- 
fectly smooth  and  even;  this  twine  he  threads  into  a  needle  and, 
beginning  the  bag  at  the  small  end,  he  works  spirally,  widening 
when  necessary,  first  with  a  double  button-hole  stitch  and  after- 
ward with  one  much  more  complicated,  until  the  whole  is  com- 
pleted of  one  continuous  thread;  to  avoid  knots,  every  time  the 
worker's  allowance  of  twine  is  nearly  exhausted  he  unthreads  the 
needle  and  splices  the  end  of  the  twine  with  fresh  fibre,  rolling  it 
into  a  fine  twine  as  before  upon  the  flat  of  his  knee,  and  continues 
repeating  the  same  operation  every  time  fresh  thread  is  required 
until  the  bag  is  finished 

One  may  imagine  that  these  articles  are  not  completed  in  a 
day.  Cavaliere  Peule  told  me  that,  on  an  exploring  expedition 
he  once  observed  a  denizen  of  a  certain  village  on  the  Upper 
Ogowe  working  industriously  on  one  of  these  bags.  Returning 
to  the  same  place  six  months  later  he  found  the  same  villager 
sitting  at  the  same  spot,  and  working  on  the  same  bag,  which 
was  still  far  from  being  completed.  An  African  in  his  native 
wilds  is  never  over  industrious     therefore  the   friends  and  advo- 


OLD    AND    NEW    LACE    IN    1  I'ALY.  4  I 

cates  of  limited  labor  and  fresh  air  for  the  working  classes  need 
have  no  fear  that  during  the  time  which  elapsed  between  Cava- 
liere  Peule's  two  visits  this  man  did  not  enjoy  sufficient  exercise, 
recreation  and  sleep. 

No.  6  is  a  gem  in  more  ways  than  one,  for  it  is  not  only 
considered  locally  very  valuable  and  is  worn  by  the  chiefs  on  the 
shores  of  the  Loanga  as  a  badge  of  office,  but  it  is  real  lace,  made 
with  a  needle,  and  the  stitches  of  which  it  is  composed  are  the 
counterpart  of  those  in  the  beautiful  Punto  in  Aria  of  Venice. 
It  is  a  cap  of  the  same  form  as  a  Phrygian,  or  a  Neapolitan  fish- 
erman's cap;  special  attention  should  be  given  to  its  shape,  as 
much  will  be  said  in  the  following  pages  about  this  particular 
head  gear,  which  is  gradually  becoming  obsolete.  The  fabrica- 
tion of  this  African  cap  begins  at  the  center  of  the  crown  with  a 
tin}-  but  perfect  wheel,  which  is  increased  by  alternate  open  and 
close  stitches  of  exceeding  fineness,  made  with  perfect  regularity 
of  spacing  and  depth;  at  intervals  diamonds  are  formed  of  close 
work,  alternating  with  a  ground  of  open  stitch,  and  the  com- 
pleted cap  is  finished  off  with  a  band  at  the  edge  which  is  pro- 
duced in  quite  a  different  kind  of  stitch.  The  thread  used  is  fine, 
strong  and  pliable,  resembling  unbleached  flax  or  hemp,  but  is 
not  of  the  same  construction  as  these,  when  examined  under  the 
microscope.  Might  not  this  be  the  fibre  used  by  the  Lake 
Dwellers  which  scientists  have  failed  to  classify,  and  which  has 
successfully  resisted  the  wear  of  centuries?  Leaving  the  savage 
races  to  search  among  -those  of  known  civilization,  we  may  go 
back  for  centuries  upon  centuries  without  finding  the  origin  of 
textiles.  The  ancient  monuments  of  Babylonia  and  Assyria  fur- 
nish the  names  of  kings  who  reigned  three  thousand  five  hundred 
years  before  Christ,  living  to  the  great  age  of  the  early  patriarchs, 
and  some  of  these  princes  must  have  existed  near  the  time  of  the 
flood,  as  frequent  allusions  are  made  on  their  inscriptions  to  that 
awful  calamity. 

In  studying  the  history  ot  the  world  as  depicted  on  the  monu- 
ments of  Egypt,  the  exodus  of  the  Jews  appears  a  trivial  bit  of 
modern  history;  and  Abraham's  visit  to  that  country,  during 
which  his  pretty  young  wife   Sarah,  attracted   great   attention   at 


42  OLD  AND  NEW  LACE  IN  ITALY. 

court  by  her  beauty,  grace  of  manner  and  accomplishments,  seems 
a    romantic    episode    in  the  life  of  an  ancestor.     The  Egyptian 
hieroglyphics  which  represent  long  lines  and  dynasties  of  kings 
majestically  arrayed,  go  back  so  very   far   that  we  lose  our  awe 
for  the  book    of   Manin,    the    Ramayana   and    the  Mahabharata, 
which  describe  the  civilization  of  India;  the  Illiad  and  the  Pente- 
teuch  seem  works  of  national  history,  and  we  look  upon  the  book 
of   Job,  written  two  thousand   five  hundred  years  before  Christ, 
as  a  comparatively  modern  classic.     Whether  the  Egyptian  and 
Assyrian   races   were  twin  sisters,  or  which  was  the  first  created, 
we  can  not  tell,  but  both  bear  marks  of  the  same  Semetic  parent- 
age in  lineage  and  character.     In  any  case  the  stock  was  prolific, 
and  a  branch  of  it  passed  into  India  in  the  vanguard  of  the  Aryan 
race,  which,  when  theground  had  been  well  cultivated  by  its  in- 
dustrious forerunners,   in    its   turn   emigrated   and  commingling 
its  richer,  more  fiery  blood   with   that  of    its    predecessors    gave 
a  fresh  incentive  to  all  the  arts  of  peace  and  war.     These  old  na- 
tions were  full  of  inventive  knowledge,  which  it  has  been  the  fate 
of  our  modern   civilization    to    rediscover    and  classify,  for  they 
even  realized  the  existence  of  microbes  although  ignorant  of  the 
means    adapted    to    destroying    them,    and    so    the    Pantheistic 
religion  of  the  Romans  included   special  exorcisms  and  prayers 
addressed  to  their  personification  of  a  god.     We  will  take  Job  as 
an   example  of  ancient  civilization  in  his  exquisite  poem,  we  re- 
ceive   the    story    of    his    life    and    experiences    from     his    own 
lips, while  Homer  but  repeats  and  idealizes  what  he  has  heard  from 
others.     Job   was  a   rich  Aryan  chief  or  king.     He  possessed  a 
palatial  residence  constructed  of  baked  brick,  having  a  portico 
adorned    with    columns.       This     dwelling     was    furnished    with 
couches  and  beds,  and  with  tables  on  which  his  meals  were  served 
on    gold  plate.     At  night   the   apartments  were  illuminated   by 
means  of  oil  lamps   and   candles.     Utensils   of  copper,  iron  and 
earthenware,  as  also  bottles  made  of  skins,  and  sacks — cloth  bags 
— served  for  the  baser  domestic  uses. 

Job  lived  in  or  near  a  city,  for  he  speaks  of  the  princes  cover- 
ing their  mouths  in  token  of  respect  when  he  passed  them  in  the 
gate,  and  of  the  nobles  and  old  men  risine  to  do  him  homaee  and 


OLD  AND  NEW  LACE  IN  ITALY.  43 

waiting  to  be  spoken  to  with  the  same  courtesy  that  is  now  shown 
toward  rulers.  He  wore  a  diadem  or  crown  of  gold,  gold  ear- 
rings and  a  flowing  robe  edged  about  the  neck  with  a  collar. 
This  garment  was  girded  with  a  leather  or  embroidered  belt,  and 
over  it  he  wore  a  rich  mantle  hanging  from  his  shoulders.  He 
had  also  a  mirror  in  which  to  admire  his  toilet  when  completed. 
The  garments  he  describes  were  carefully  fashioned  and  sewed, 
and  the  cloth  which  composed  them  was  dyed  of  various  hues 
and  woven  of  thread  spun  from  flax,  wool,  camel's  hair,  and  per- 
haps even  silk.  This  is  not  certain,  however,  for  although  a 
legend  ascribes  to  him  a  knowledge  of  the  use  of  silk,  it  can  not 
be  proved.  In  summer  the  woolen  stuffs  were  packed  away  in 
chests  with  strong-smelling  woods  and  spices  to  save  them  from 
destructive  insects,  as  is  also  so  well  described  by  Homer  cent- 
uries later.  The  treasury  contained  fine  gold  of  Ophir,  gold  dust, 
jewels  of  fine  gold,  gold  coins,  alloyed  silver,  sapphires,  rubies, 
crystals — by  which  term  perhaps  diamonds  are  meant — pearls, 
onyxes,  coral  and  Ethiopian  topazes.  The  city  in  or  near  which 
he  lived  had  gates  and  walls,  and  was  surrounded  by  a  moat. 
His  fields  were  laid  out  with  landmarks,  fences,  hedges  and 
ditches;  he  rented  additional  fields  from  his  neighbors,  and  em- 
ployed a  thousand  yoke  of  oxen  to  till  his  land.  He  had  one 
wife,  who  lived  with  him,  while  his  three  daughters  and  seven 
sons  had  each  a  separate  home;  his  own  household  consisted  of 
hired  servants  and  slaves.  The  prisoners  taken  in  war  were  also 
in  his  time  used  as  slaves  and  compelled  to  do  the  hardest  work 
including  the  building  of  great  monuments,  which  princes  caused 
to  be  erected  during  their  lifetime,  to  be  sure  of  having  worthy 
mausoleums  adorned  with  laudatory  inscriptions  carved  in  stone 
or  traced  on  terra  cotta  tablets.  Books  were  written  with  iron 
pens,  and  may  have  been  composed  of  tablets  or  of  rolls  of  palm 
or  papyrus,  or  possibly  of  leather,  like  the  old  Jewish  bibles,  since 
there  were  boots,  bridles,  slings  and  water-bottles  all  made  of 
tanned  skins.  Job  speaks  of  swift  ships,  of  the  phenomena  of  the 
sea,  the  forces  of  nature,  the  condensation  of  rain  and  the  purify- 
ing effect  of  frost;  he  is  also  well  acquainted  with  astronomy  and 
natural  history,  for  he  mentions  the  North  star  and  the  Pleiades, 


44  OLD    AND    NEW    LACE    IN    ITALY. 

and  minutely  describes  the  whale,  the  elephant,  the  camel,  the 
ox,  the  ass  and  the  horse,  as  also  sheep,  goats,  fowls,  ostriches 
and  innumerable  wild  birds  and  animals.  He  occupied  himself 
with  commercial  as  well  as  agricultural  pursuits,  and  had  scales 
for  weighing  the  merchandise.  He  sent  out  couriers  and  tax- 
gatherers,  and  was  so  frequently  visited  by  travelers  and  mer- 
chants from  different  countries  that  he  kept  interpreters  in  order 
to  be  able  to  converse  with  them;  he  also  was  himself  a  traveler, 
and  when  on  a  journey  or  on  a  hunting  expedition  made  use  of 
tents  for  himself  and  his  vast  retinue.  In  his  time  there  were 
judges  and  physicians,  and  horse  and  foot  soldiers,  organized  in 
.troops  under  officers,  and  furnished  with  iron  and  steel  shields 
and  breastplates,  and  armed  with  swords,  pikes,  lances,  slings- 
and  bows  with  flint  heads  for  the  arrows  and  sharp  stones  for  the 
slings — remnants  of  the  usages  of  the  stone  age — are  mentioned. 
For  hunting  and  fishing  he  possessed,  in  addition  to  the  above- 
named  weapons,  traps,  snares,  nets  made  of  cord,  hooks  and  har- 
poons. He  and  his  children  were  very  hospitable,  and  gave  fre- 
quent feasts  which  sometimes  lasted  late  into  the  night,  and  to 
which  they  invited  not  only  their  neighbors  but  also  guests  living 
at  great  distances.  The  food  was  cooked  and  seasoned  with  salt, 
olive  oil,  butter  and  milk;  it  consisted  of  meat,  fowl,  eggs  and 
vegetables,  bread  and  cakes,  made  of  corn,  wheat  or  barley 
ground  between  two  stones  into  flour  by  the  women;  nuts,  fruits, 
honey  and  cheese  came  in  later,  as  delicacies.  The  usual  bever- 
age at  these  banquets  was  wine  made  from  grapes. 

job's  religion  was  monotheistic;  and  though  the  sun  and 
moon  were  worshipped  in  his  neighborhood,  idols  of  wood  or 
stone  had  not  yet  become  a  part  of  the  religions  known  to  him; 
all  these  details  have  been  mentioned  to  prove  how  little  certain 
oriental  races  have  altered  in  their  customs  since  the  oldest  his- 
toric epoch,  until  in  the  last  fifty  years  the  penetration  of  Eu- 
ropean customs  into  the  east  produced  innovations. 

No  poet,  singing  the  heroic  deeds  of  his  nation  would  inter- 
rupt the  flow  of  stately  verse  to  introduce  trivialities  which  would 
mar  the  completeness  of  his  ode,  or  retard  its  climax,  but  some- 
times   when    describing   fair   women    and    their    attractions,    the 


OLD    AND    NEW    LACE    IN    ITALY.  45 

ancient  authors  lingered  lovingly  over  their  charms  and  even 
added  a  description  of  the  personal  adornments  which  enhanced 
their  loveliness,  ami  these  brief  word-pictures  coincide  with  the 
cartoons  on  Egyptian  and  Assyrian  monuments,  and  Etruscan 
vases  and  tombs;  whilst  in  the  secluded  homes  of  Indian  princes 
this  type  of  womanhood  is  still  preserved.  Graceful  female 
forms  are  there  still  veiled  with  gauzy  materials  and  robed  in 
richly  spangled  tissues  or  draped  in  cunningly  wrought  mantles, 
embroidered  along  their  hems  with  divers  colors  and  trimmed 
with  rich  and  complicated  fringes,  while  about  their  pretty  feet 
and  arms,  bangles  and  bells  tingle  as  they  move,  busied  with  their 
household  duties,  or  raise  the  curtains  that  veil  the  doorways  of 
their  apartment  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  the  great  world  outside. 
These  curtains  are  made  of  rich  carpets  or  heavy  materials- 
adorned  with  intricate  designs  wrought  in  needle-work  by  them- 
selves or  by  the  maidens  under  their  skilled  direction. 

But  if  we  wish  to  touch  and  examine  the  very  same  flexibles 
which  are  mentioned  by  Homer  and  his  contemporaries  we  must 
turn  to  the  tombs  in  Egypt.  The  Egyptians  believed  in  the 
bodily  resurrection  of  the  dead,  and  therefore  caused  the  bodies 
of  the  departed  to  be  carefully  embalmed  with  spices  and  bitu- 
men. This,  combined  with  the  dry  atmosphere,  many  wrappings 
and  numerous  superposed  mummy  cases  has  preserved  the  rich 
garments  in  which  the  remains  were  clothed  so  that  the  beloved 
might  not  have  to  blush  because  of  his  mean  attire  on  appearing 
before  Osiris  and  the  shades  of  the  other  world.  Besides  this 
the  Egyptians  adorned  the  walls  of  the  tomb  with  drawings  which 
were  illustrative  of  the  occupations  and  past  life  of  the  deceased, 
which  were  absolutely  truthful  in  every  detail,  however  simple 
and  uneventful  had  been  his  existence,  and  generally  showed 
also  the  number  and  employments  of  his  servants. 

The  following  illustrations  are  reproductions  of  some  of  these 
cartouches  which,  together  with  the  information  regarding  them, 
we  owe  to  the  kindly  interest  taken  in  our  work  by  Prof.  Schiopa- 
relli,  of  the  Egyptian  museum,  in  Florence,  while  the  collection 
of  textiles;  without  which  this  exhibition  would  be  incomplete,  is 
due  to  the    well-known    antiquarian    author    and   critic,   Herr  R. 


46  OLD    AND    NEW    LACE    IN    ITALY. 

Forrer,  of  Strassbourg.  I  therefore  gladly  avail  myself  of  this 
opportunity  for  heartily  thanking  them  both  in  the  name  of  our 
committee  and  in  my  own  for  the  valuable  information  they  have 
contributed  to  this  little  book,  and  for  the  benevolence  and 
patience  with  which  they  replied  to  our  frequent  importunings. 

Nets  were  made  in  Egypt  in  great  abundance,  and  from  the 
remotest  times;  the  process  of  their  manufacture  is  pictured  in 
No.  XIV  A,  on  the  tomb  of  the  feudal  prince  Nckira,  near  Beni- 
Hassan,  in  Upper  Egypt,  which  was  decorated  during  the  twelfth 
dynasty,  about  2500  B.  C.  The  same  design  (with  slight  varia- 
tions which  prove  it  no  copy),  is  repeated  one  thousand  years  later 
on  atomboftheseventeenth dynasty  nearThebes.  No.XIVBshows 
two  ways  of  snaring  birds  with  nets,  and  is  from  the  same  tomb 
as  also  is  XIV  C,  which  indicates  that  the  Egyptians,  like  main- 
savage  nations,  and  like  the  American  and  Asiatic  Indians,  used 
nets  for  carrying  heavy  weights.  The  cartouch  XIV  C  repre- 
sents a  water-carrier  with  two  jars,  borne  in  nets.  It  will  be 
observed  that  in  the  manufacture  of  these  nets  instead  of  using  a 
bifurcated  needle  the  two  workmen  employ  balls  of  twine  and 
shuttles  or  spindles,  and  that  the  net  is  stretched  on  a  horizontal 
frame,  being  worked  at  both  ends  at  once.  These  large  nets  were 
made  of  flax  or  cotton  twine  and  were  used  alike  for  bird  catch- 
ing and  for  fishing  as  well  as  for  curtains  in  the  doorways  and 
windows  of  houses  to  exclude  the  flies  and  other  insects  which 
swarm   in  that  country  at  all  seasons  of  the  year. 

No.  XV  is  a  much  older  illustration  of  the  use  of  nets  than  the 
preceding  cartouche  and  is  taken  from  a  bas  relief  in  the  tomb 
of  the  dignitary,  Tebehmi,  near  the  great  pyramid  constructed 
under  the  rule  of  the  fifth  dynasty,  3300  B.  C.  It  represents  a 
man  carrying  a  pole  on  which  are  hung  several  bird  cages.  Just 
as  on  any  autumn  morning  one  may  see  an  Italian  bird  snarer 
carrying  his  decoys  to  the  trimmed  thickets  where  his  nets  are 
spread.  There  are  many  monuments  older  than  the  above  which 
also  illustrate  the  use  of  nets  in  Egypt. 

No.  XVI,  screen,  is  a  drawing  which  represents  a  fine  net,  which 
exists  in  the  Egyptian  museum  at  Florence;  it  is  of  twine,  rubbed 
with  bitumen  and  is  also    evidently    made   for  catching  birds  or 


OLD    AND    NEW    LACK    IN    ITALY.  47 

small  fish,  as  it  is  composed  entirely  of  little,  close  set  bags  of 
net  in  which  the  game,  once  it  has  entered,  must  perforce  remain 
suspended,  without  power  to  move  or  escape,  that  resembling  in 
its  effect  the  fine  silk  net  left  loose  between  two  coarser  ones  at 
present  used  for  bird  catching  in  Italy.  In  the  Florentine  museum 
there  is  another  net  made  entirely  of  leather,  in  which  material 
slits  are  regularly  cut  close  together  on  the  same  principle  and 
with  like  effect  as  our  Christmas  tree  nets  for  sweets  clipped  out 
of  silver  paper.  These  leather  net-like  curtains  must  have  served 
in  the  doorways  and  windows  of  the  wealth}',  or  perhaps  to  save 
animals  from  being  tormented  by  flies  and  gnats  as  nets  are  now 
thrown  over  horses  in  summer  in  warm  climates,  with  the  same 
object  in  view. 

No.  XVII  represents  a  little,  double-knotted  bag  which  was 
made  to  hold  a  porphyry  balsam  bottle.  It  is  most  artistically 
worked  in  macrame  stitch  and  resembles  in  effect  the  meshes  of 
the  celebrated  resean  double,  on  double  ground  of  old  Burano 
lace.  On  Greek  and  Etruscan  vases  we  find  the  reproduction  of 
nets  in  endless  variety,  but  nothwithstanding  their  universal  use 
for  domestic  purposes,  we  have  no  proof  that  they  were 
adopted  as  ornaments  embroidered  to  adorn  clothing,  although 
many  of  the  elaborately  knotted  fringes  of  the  Egyptians,  Assyr- 
ians and  Jews  produce  the  effects  of  nets.  Fillets  were  in  general 
use  among  the  Greeks  and  Etruscans  for  binding  up  the  hair,  and 
were  worn  with  diadems,  and  with  or  without  veils.  They  are 
often  represented  as  ornamented  with  designs,  but  we  can  not  tell 
whether  these  represent  gold  buttons,  or  embroidery  or  filagree 
work,  for  in  the  decorations  on  the  vases  the  treatment  is  some- 
what conventional. 

In  No.  VIII  A  are  shown  some  Greek  costumes  photographed 
from  the  famous  Sysipha  vase  in  the  museum  at  Munich.  The 
earliest  Egyptian  mummy  cloths  are  like  those  of  the  Peruvian 
mummies,  almost  prehistoric,  and  have  the  same  weaving  and 
texture  as  the  stuffs  of  the  Lake  Dwellers.  We  have  no  illus- 
trations of  these,  but  No.  XVIII  A  will  serve  our  purpose,  though 
it  is  of  a  later  period  from  Achmine  Panopolis.  In  it  the  warp 
threads  are   left   as  a   fringe,  and  No.  XVIII  B  shows   how,  after 


48  OLD  AND  NEW  LACE  IN  ITALY. 

working  an  inch  or  two  of  texture,  the  woof  was  drawn  out  or 
omitted,  so  as  to  form  a  transparent  border.  This  ornament  was 
at  other  times  varied  by  spaces  of  open  work,  as  in  No.  XVIII  C,  in 
which  the  weft  is  shot  across  behind  the  warp  at  regular  distances, 
for  a  certain  number  of  threads,  and  then  the  ordinary  weaving 
continues,  thus  forming  alternate  squares.  The  woof  threads 
were  then  cut  away  if  desired.  At  a  later  period  these  open 
spaces  were  filled  in  with  colored  embroidery. 

Xo.  IX,  screen,  represents  a  skirt  embroidered  round  the  belt 
and  arranged  with  braces  to  support  it  from  the  shoulders. 

Xo.  XII,  screen,  is  a  design  that  dates  from  an  inscription  be- 
longing to  the.  dynast\r  which  reigned  2,500  years  before  Christ, 
and  is  preserved  in  the  musQum  at  Florence. 

The  early  Egyptians  also  made  fringes  which  were  knotted 
into  the  material  they  were  destined  to  adorn,  or  sewed  on  after- 
ward. We  find  frequent  examples  of  garments  trimmed  with 
these  on  sashes  and  on  the  edge  of  skirts,  as  also  deep  fringes 
worn  about  the  neck;  when  this  is  the  case  the  women  thus 
adorned  are  frequently  represented  as  engaged  in  menial  seiwice 
or  manual  labor  which  indicates  the  lower  classes  who  may  have 
adopted  this  fashion  in  imitation  of  the  rich  necklaces  of  their 
betters  and  to  satisfy  their  love  of  color  and  ornament  at  small 
cost.  These  neck-fringes  remind  one  of  the  artistically  plaited 
grass  necklaces  made  and  worn  by  the  wild  tribe  of  Matheran  in 
northern  India  and  the  work  of  these  is  the  same  as  that  which 
served  as  a  model  for  the  beautiful  oriental  gold  necklaces  found 
in  the  Etruscan  tombs,  and  which  are  still  executed  without  vari- 
ation by  the  artisans  of  India,  who  cling  with  loving  faithfulness 
to  the  traditions  of  their  ancestors  despite  the  innovations  of  the 
nineteenth  century. 

The  bas-reliefs  executed  in  honor  of  the  princes  belonging  to 
the  nineteenth  and  twentieth  dynasties  on  the  royal  tombs  in 
the  valley  of  the  Kings  near  Thebes,  furnish  us  with  many  illus- 
trations of  elaborate  fringes.  Xo.  X,  screen,  represents  queen 
Tarhat,  mother  of  Pharoah  Amonenses,  on  whose  tomb  she  is 
portrayed  and  who  reigned  in  the  thirteenth  century  before  Christ. 
No.   XI.  screen,  represents   Queen  Isit,   wife  of    Rameses  VI,  as 


OLD    AND    NEW    LACK    IN    ITALY.  49 

she  is  depicted  on  her  own  tomb.  She  belonged  to  the  twentieth 
dynasty  of  the  twelfth  century  before  Christ.  No.  XII,  screen, 
represents  Rameses  VII  and  No.  XIII,  screen,  his  wife,  both 
copied  from  his   tomb  of   the  twentieth   dynasty  B.  C.  1200. 

No.  XXXVI  A,  B  and  C,  screens,  are  illustrations  also  taken 
from  the  royal  tombs  at  Thebes.  No.  XXXVI  A,  represents 
an  Arab  chief  of  the  Absha  tribe  which  emigrated  into  Egypt 
during  the  twelfth  dynasty,  about  1600  B.  C.  No.  XXXVI  B, 
represents  Arabs  of  the  same  tribe. 

No.  XXXVI  C  represents  the  Phoenician  prince (//tf/tf)  bringing 
gifts  to  a  Pharaoh  of  the  eighteenth  dynasty,  about  1900  B.  C. 
The  garments  of  this  prince  are  beautifully  worked  and  trimmed 
with  fringes,  cords  and  tassels.  A  correct  idea  of  the  princely 
and  priestly  clothing  used  in  Egypt  at  the  time  Moses  wrote  his 
laws  and  the  history  of  the  ancestors  of  his  race  (about  1500  B. 
C. ),  may  be  obtained  by  reading  the  instructions  given  in  Exodus 
xxviii,  and  the  following  chapters  for  the  fashioning  of  the  Jew- 
ish priestly  garments,  which  were  copied  with  modifications  from 
those  of  the  royal  princes  who  at  that  period  in  Egypt  were  con- 
sidered as  belonging  to  the  hierarchy  of  religion  as  well,  and  so 
had  a  double  hold  upon  the  superstitious  populace;  and  it  was  in 
this  capacity  that  Moses  acquired  much  of  his  erudition  and  his 
knowledge  of  sanitary  laws.  The  costume  of  the  Jewish  high 
priest,  according  to  the  regulations  laid  down  by  the  greatest  of 
the  prophets,  consisted  first  of  an  under-robe,  or  shirt,  long  and 
full  in  the  skirt  with  sleeves  to  the  wrist,  worn  over  a  pair  of 
breeches,  both  of  these  garments  being  made  of  white  linen;  over 
the  robe  was  worn  the  ephod  or  tunic  of  "fine  twined  linen"  an 
expression  which  in  the  light  of  modern  erudition  is  considered 
incorrect,  the  Hebrew  term  translated,  twined  linen,  being  the 
same  as  that  used  elsewhere  for  silk.  The  ephod  was  therefore 
probably  made  of  spun  silk  dyed  blue;  it  was  scant  in  the  skirt 
and  reached  only  to  the  knee;  it  had  short  sleeves  and  was  bound 
about  the  neck  with  a  piece  of  the  same  material,  that  it  might 
not  be  torn  in  putting  it  on,  nothing  imperfect  being  allowed  to 
approach  the  mercy  seat  This  binding  was  beautified  by  an  em- 
broidered border   in   gold,   purple  and   scarlet,  with  button-hole 

4 


50 


OLD    AND    NEW    LACE    IN    ITALY. 


stitch  around  the  edges  and  around  the  openings,  through  which 
the  golden  chains  supporting  the  magnificent  breast-plate  and  the 
blue  lace  attaching  it  to  the  embroidered  girdle  were  passed; 
upon  each  shoulder  an  onyx  stone  engraved  with  the  names  of  the 
twelve  tribes  of  Israel  was  set  in  rich  embroidery,  and  the  hem  of 
the  ephod  was  adorned  with  a  deep  border,  repeating  the  designs 
upon  the  shoulders  and  about  the  neck,  and  was  edged  with  a 
fringe  composed  of  alternated  pomegranates  made  in  blue,  purple 
and  scarlet  needle-work  and  small  gold  bells,  which  tinkled  as  he 
walked,  warning  the  devout  of  the  high  priest's  approach.  Upon 
his  head  he  wore  a  fine  linen  veil,  or  kerchief,  edged  with  embroid- 
ery and  fringe  called  the  mitre,  such  as  we  see  constantly  in  the 
reproductions  of  Egyptian  designs,  covering  the  ears  and  hanging 
down  to  the  shoulders  at  the  back;  over  this  mitre  the  pharoahs 
and  the  gods  and  goddesses  of  Egypt  wore  a  winged  crown,  the 
priests  and  princes  a  golden  diadem  marked  with  their  arms,  and 
the  Jewish  high  priest  was  ordered  to  have  his  made  of  a  plate  of 
pure  gold  and  engraved  like  a  signet  with  the  words  "Holiness 
to  the  Lord,"  and  to  have  it  attached  upon  his  forehead  by  a  blue 
lace  which  passing  to  the  back  around  the  head  was  tied  in  a  bow 
and  the  ornamental  ends  allowed  to  hang  down  over  the  mitre. 
To  complete  this  regal  costume  a  large  and  ample  cloak  or  coat, 
made  of  fine  embroidered  linen,  was  thrown  over  the  shoulders. 
From  this  description  it  is  to  be  inferred  that  two  kinds  of  work 
not  embroidered  in  the  stuff  were  executed  on  these  garments — 
one  being  the  pomegranates  in  colored  silks,  that  being  around  the 
edge  of  the  ephod  between  the  bells,  and  which  would  coincide  in 
design  and  treatment  with  Turkish  needle-lace  of  the  fifteenth 
century  after  Christ,  and  the  blue  lace  used  to  attach  the  breast- 
plate and  diadem  made  of  silk  and  thread  that  was  knotted 
together  like  a  passementerie  or  macrame  bobbin  lace.  Cotton 
was  never  highly  esteemed  for  textiles  in  Europe,  Africa  and 
Asia  Minor  during  classic  times,  and  it  is  first  mentioned  in  the 
Bible  in  the  Book  of  Esther,  though  it  must  have  been  in  use  in 
the  far  east  for  centuries  before,  and  has  always  been  particularly 
appreciated  by  the  Indians  and  Chinese.  The  occupations  of  the 
Jewish  women,  the  trust   placed  by  the  men  in  their  advice,  the 


OLD  AND  NEW  LACK  IN  ITALY.  ;  I 

selection  made  from  among  them  of  rulers  and  judges,  their 
erudition  and  literary  accomplishments,  their  direction  of  the 
house  and  their  management  of  the  slaves  and  of  home  industries, 
their  simple  amusements  and  their  intelligent  devotion  to  the  rear- 
ing of  the  children,  all  resemble  these  characteristics  as  portrayed 
in  the  lives  of  the  most  chaste  class  of  Greeks  and  Etruscan  ma- 
trons, who  by  their  education,  grave  responsibilities  and  retired 
mode  of  life  became  most  serious  and  philosophic,  and  were  thus 
prepared  to  receive  the  teachings  of  Christianity  and  render 
staunch  and  valuable  assistance  and  advice  to  the  disciples  of  that 
religion  from  the  first  instant  of  its  existence.  The  costume 
they  wore  was  suited  to  their  lives  and  occupations,  and  so  pre- 
served one  type  for  centuries,  and  slightly  modified  by  climate 
and  nationality  is  that  of  the  women  of  the  early  church  until  the 
eighth  century  after  Christ. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  style  of  garments  suited  to  the  more 
enervated  life  and  looser  morals  of  India,  Syria  and  Egypt  was 
adopted  by  the  gay-hearted  dancing  girls  and  the  less  sedate 
women  of  the  Roman  court,  where  fashions  were  as  changeable 
as  in  Paris  today.  A  matron's  costume  consisted  of  a  flowing 
under  tunic,  or  stola,  with  either  long  or  short  sleeves,  as  pre- 
ferred; this  was  composed  of  heavy  or  light  material,  as  fancy  or 
the  season  might  dictate.  Over  the  stola  a  shorter  tunic  was  worn, 
made  full  at  the  neck  or  of  one  straight  piece  clasped  on  either 
shoulder  and  draped  across  the  breast.  At  the  waist  the  gar- 
ments were  held  in  place  by  a  belt  of  metal,  leather  or  passe- 
menterie, or  else  by  a  simple  ribbon.  The  feet  were  protected  by 
shoes,  slippers  or  sandals,  to  which  stockings,  bifurcated  at  the 
toe  to  admit  the  sandal  strap,  were  added  in  winter.  When  walk- 
ing abroad,  and  also  at  home  in  chilly  weather,  the  matron  wore 
a  full  toga  edged  with  embroidery,  or  fringed  or  scalloped  around 
the  borders.  A  long  veil  consisting  of  a  transparent  material, 
more  or  less  richly  fringed  or  embroidered  according  to  her 
wealth  and  the  position  she  occupied  in  the  social  scale,  was 
artistically  draped  over  her  hair  and  caused  to  hang  down  over 
her  shoulders,  often  to  the  ground.  The  draping  of  this  veil,  and 
the  combing  of  the  hair  beneath  it,  was  considered   of  great  im- 


52  OLD  AND  NEW  LACE  IN  ITALY. 

portance,  and  a  diadem  and  any  quantity  of  pins,  fillets,  ribbons 
and  jewels  were  used  to  adorn  the  locks,  which  were  braided, 
waved,  curled  or  frizzed,  quite  in  modern  fashion. 

Blind  Homer,  in  wandering  from  palace  to  palace,  must  have 
heard  this  branch  of  the  feminine  toilet  freely  discussed,  for  he 
describes  it  precisely  as  we  see  it  reproduced  on  Greek  vases 
adorned  with  representations  of  historical  women,  for  instance. 
In  describing  Andromache's  grief  he  says: 

"  Her  hair's  fair  ornaments;  the  braids  that  bound; 

"  The  net  that  held  them,  and  the  wreaths  that  crowned; 

"  The  veil  and  diadem  threw  far  away,"  etc. 
Besides  the  golden  wreaths  which  encircled  her  Greek  knot 
and  the  jeweled  hair-pins  which  held  her  veil  in  place,  the  rich 
patrician  had  innumerable  brooches,  rings  and  bracelets,  clasps 
and  earrings,  as  well  as  chatelaines,  composed  of  quantities  of 
tiny  chains,  to  which  were  suspended  all  the  objects  that  could 
possibly  be  of  use  to  rearrange  her  toilet  when  far  from  home,  or 
else  those  required  in  her  household  occupations.  The  gleaming 
fillet  or  net  that  covered  her  hair  was  often  composed  of  precious 
metals,  and  was  of  complicated,  exquisite  workmanship  like  the 
"golden  net  of  Hephaestus" — -whose  texture  e'en  the  search  of 
gods  deceives — "fine  as  the  filmy  webs  the  spider  weaves." 
The  young  girls  often  allowed  their  hair  to  flow  loose  under  their 
veils  or  plaited  it  in  long  tresses,  binding  a  simple  ribbon  or 
gauzy  net  around  the  brows  to  hold  the  veil  or  hair  in  place. 
They  wore  shorter  and  less  ample  tunics  than  the  married 
women,  and  no  jewels  but  only  a  metal  brooch  of  the  simplest 
pattern  to  clasp  or  pin  together  their  garments  wherever  neces- 
sary. The  Jewish  men,  who  were  neither  athletic  nor  equestrian, 
wore  clothes  very  much  like  those  of  the  women  supplemented  by  a 
coat  with  armholes  instead  of  the  toga.  This  coat  was  generally 
dyed  a  dark  color,  and  was  freely  adorned  with  fringes.  The 
men  of  Etruria,  Greece  and  Rome  had  flowing  robes  for  certain  fes- 
tivals and  as  badges  of  office,  just  as  they  had  suits  of  armor  for  war; 
but  their  daily  costume  consisted  in  the  short,  full  tunic  with  or 
without  sleeves,  belted  in  at  the  waist  and  covered  by  a  toga  that 
hung  majestically  from  the  shoulders,  or  was  wrapped  about  them 


OLD  AND  NEW  LACE  IN  ITALY.  53 

in  studied  folds  so  full  of  grace  and  dignity  that  they  are  still 
called  classic.  Sometimes  the  men  adopted  for  riding  and  travel- 
ing, and  in  cold  weather,  a  costume,  arising  perhaps  from  con- 
tact with  the  east,  consisting  of  short  breeches  that  were  hidden 
beneath  the  plaits  of  a  close-fitting  tunic  and  a  sort  of  cloth 
stocking  or  leggin  strapped  about  with  leather  thongs  coming 
from  the  leather  slipper  or  low  shoe,  a  fashion  that  is  still  fol- 
lowed by  the  mountaineers  about  Rome.  They  also  had  regular 
leather  top  boots,  gauntlets  and  wallets.  They  wore  helmets  in 
time  of  war  and  on  parade,  but  when  following  peaceful  occupa- 
tions they  made  use  of  caps  and  fillets  of  a  special  form.  No. 
XIX,  screen,  illustrates  certain  of  these  garments.  No.  XIX  I  repre- 
sents a  tunic  embroidered  with  clavena  or  stripes.  No.  XIX  2  is 
copied  from  a  tunic  embroidered  with  squares  like  those 
described  as  placed  on  either  shoulder  of  the  ephod  ;  both  these 
drawings  also  illustrate  the  embroideries  which  were  used  on 
other  parts  of  this  garment. 

No.  XIX  3  screen  represents  a  toga  with  fringed  edge ;  the  toga 
and  pallium  are  succeeded  in  these  modern  times  by  shawls,  and 
by  the  blanket  of  the  Red  Indian.  No.  XIX  4  screen  is  a  draw- 
ing of  a  knitted  woolen  bifurcated  sock  of  mitten  shape,  thus 
made  to  allow  the  sandal-straps  to  pass  on  the  inner  side  of  the 
great  toe  and  properly  support  the  sole.  No.  XIX  5  represents 
a  leather  slipper.  No.  XIX  6  is  a  flat  shoe  of  the  hygienic  com- 
mon-sense pattern,  such  as  we  should  wear  to-day  were  we  not  so 
wedded  to  tip-tilting  French  heels.  No.  XIX  7,  screen,  is  a 
leather  boot.  The  embroidered  bands  worn  in  the  time  of  the 
early  Roman  empire  on  the  tunic  and  the  toga,  as  well  as  the 
fringes  and  borders  still  worn  by  the  Jews  at  the  same  period, 
denoted  by  their  size,  form  and  color  the  rank  and  occupation  of 
the  wearer,  and  were  established  in  the  one  case  by  imperial 
decrees,  in  the  other  by  prophetic  laws.  Roman  citizens 
alone  were  allowed  to  use  the  various  shades  of  purple.  The 
senator's  distinctive  ornament  was  a  broad  band  or  cloven,  which 
passing  over  the  shoulder  of  the  tunic  descended  before  and 
behind,  often  reaching  below  the  waist  to  the  hem  of  the 
garment.     The  rank  of  knight  was  denoted  by  two  narrow  stripes 


54  OLD    AND    NEW    LACE    IN    ITALY. 

of  purple,  the  embroidered  designs  on  the  shoulders,  a  modifica- 
tion of  which  still  remains  in  the  Italian  cioceare  shirts  used  by  the 
Roman  peasants,  of  which  one  is  exhibited,  were  often  round  or 
oblong  instead  of  square,  and  then  the  pieces  in  the  four  lower 
corners  of  the  tunic  were  shaped  and  designed  to  correspond 
with  them;  at  other  times  the  embroidery  surrounding  the  hole 
left  for  the  head  to  pass  through,  and  which  formed  the  neck 
trimming,  was  widened  and  made  to  descend  several  inches  over 
the  back  and  chest  like  a  deep  collar.  Around  the  bottom  of  the 
richer  tunic  there  was  always  a  band  of  embroidery,  or  else  one 
or  more  stripes  were  woven  in  the  material  of  which  it  was  made, 
or  sewed  on  after  it  was  completed.  The  tunic  was  made  all  in 
one  piece,  the  opening  for  the  head  being  left  in  the  middle  of 
the  material  during  wearing,  which  was  then  sewn  together  on 
either  side  from  the  arm-pit  to  the  hem.  The  toga  for  a  full- 
grown  man  was  about  a  yard  and  a  half  wide  by  two  yards  and  a 
quarter  long.  It  was  often  fringed  or  embroidered  or  woven  with 
stripes  at  the  ends  or  sides.  At  its  corners  there  were  also  in- 
troduced rounds  or  squares  of  embroidery  to  match  those  on  the 
tunic  with  which  it  was  destined  to  be  worn.  The  women  of  the 
latter  empire  wore  graceful  and  exaggerated  veils  draped  over 
the  entire  figure  (instead  of  togas).  This  veil  was  called  a  pal- 
lium, and  was  made  of  thin,  delicate  material,  embroidered  or 
woven  with  fringes  or  borders,  or  scattered  over  with  regularly 
recurring  designs  of  flowers,  leaves  or  birds,  this  kind  being 
usually  finished  off  with  a  fringe  at  the  ends. 

The  garments  of  which  we  have  been  speaking  are  illustrated 
in  the  Italian  Lace  Exhibit  by  pieces  of  embroidery  and  textiles 
manufactured  and  worn  by  men  and  women  in  the  manner  above 
described  during  the  first  centuries  of  the  Christian  era.  Such 
examples  are  very  rare  and  were  obtained  from  Herr.  R.  Forrer's 
unique  collection  of  textiles,  found  in  the  necropolis  of  Achmin, 
a  small  city  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Nile  in  Upper  Egypt,  which 
now  consists  of  a  population  of  about  30,000  inhabitants,  of  which 
number  1,000  are  Coptic  Christians,  but  in  classic  times  was  large, 
prosperous  and  celebrated  under  the  name  of  Panopolis,  and 
enjoyed  an   especial  reputation   during  the   Roman  empire  as  a 


(»LI)    AND    NEW    LACE    IN    ITALY.  55 

manufacturing  center  of  costly  stuffs  and  finely  woven  linens. 
The  oldest  graves  lie  about  five  feet  below  the  level  of  the 
ground  and  often  there  arc  several  sepulchres  superimposed, which 
demonstrates  the  great  antiquity  of  this  burial  place;  in  fact,  it 
must  have  been  used  at  least  from  the  second  century  of  our  era 
until  the  time  when  Mahometanism  had  become  predominant 
throughout  Egypt.  The  graves  consist  of  holes  dug  in  the  sand, 
in  which  the  body  was  laid  between  boards,  and  they  contain 
every  imaginable  article  of  the  toilet,  as  well  as  the  implements 
of  various  trades. 

The  stuffs  found  at  Achmin  consist  in  gauzes,  silks,  damasks 
and  satins,  made  of  pure  silk  or  mixed  with  flax,  woolens,  linens 
and  gobelin  tapestries,  and  are  striped,  rainbowed,  flowered,  etc., 
by  means  of  weaving,  embroidery  or  stamping.  The  embroidery 
was  executed  on  a  ground  formed  in  close  textiles  by  leaving  or 
drawing  out  the  weft  for  a  certain  width,  and  in  gauzes  and 
muslins  by  pushing  it  apart.  The  design  was  embroidered  upon 
the  warp  thus  left  with  a  coarse  white  thread. 

No.  XX,  screen,  is  a  water-color  drawing  from  the  Egyptian 
museum  in  Florence,  showing  part  of  a  border  worked  in  this 
way  which  had  been  sewn  on  a  linen  tunic,  of  which  a  piece  still 
remains  as  foundation.  No.  XXII  A  screen  shows  a  piece  of  the 
same  work  inserted  into  the  material  on  the  bias.  Here  we  appear 
to  be  face  to  face  with  Punto  Cirato  or  Reticella,  but  alas!  we  soon 
discover  that  this  resemblance  is  illusory  and  caused  by  the 
gnawing  fangs  of  time  which  have  eaten  awa)^  the  woolen  filling, 
made  in  real  gobelin  stitch  to  form  the  ground,  the  white  threads 
still  existing  only  served  to  outline  the  design  and  to  constitute  a 
framework  for  dividing  the  colors. 

No.  XXII  B  screen  iepresents  XXII  A  before  the  gobelin  stitch 
had  been  destroyed. 

No.  XXI  screen  shows  us  the  wrong  as  well  as  the  right  side  of 
a  piece  of  finished  embroidery. 

No.  XXIV  screen  represents  a  piece  of  embroidery  or  Gobelin 
of  a  later  period  when  the  white  outlining  had  ceased  to  be  used; 
the  figures  in  this  are  roughly  shaded  precisely  as  in  the  tapestry 
made  in  the  middle  ages.     The  originals  of   the   above  articles 


56  OLD  AND  NEW  LACE  IN  ITALY. 

elate  from  the  fourth  to  the  seventh  century  of  our  era  and  we  will 
now  examine  the  real  pieces  of  stuff. 

No.  XXV  A  screen  is  a  medallion  of  embroidery  which  has  lost 
nearly  all  the  woolen  filling,  and  therefore  excellently  illustrates 
the  process  followed  in  the  fabrication  of  these  trimmings.  To 
accelerate  the  production  of  this  elaborate  work,  the  artisan  made 
strips  of  belting  of  the  desired  width  (notice  the  selvedge  on  the 
sides  and  raw  edge  of  the  ends)  weaving  a  bleached  woof  into  an 
unbleached  twine  warp,  counting  the  stitches,  and  so  leaving  out 
a  perfectly  oval  twine  ground  of  the  size  and  shape  required  on 
which  the  embroiderer  could  begin  to  work  without  wasting  the 
time  required  for  drawing  the  shreds  out  of  a  woven  material. 
On  the  screen  one  corner  of  this  example  is  turned  over  to  show 
the  wrong  side  of  the  work,  and  that  the  white  outlining  is 
executed  in  a  kind  of  backstitch. 

No.  XXV  B  screen  is  the  piece  of  a  linen  toga  on  which  the 
above  embroidery  A  was  sewn  when  formed;  in  it  are  left  the 
coarse  threads  which  show  that  to  keep  the  medallion  from  slip- 
ping while  being  secured  to  the  material  it  was  destined  to 
adorn,  it  was  basted  across  the  middle  in  both  directions  and 
then  overcast  neatly  around  the  edge,  turning  in  the  raw  ends. 

No.  XXV  C  screen  is  part  of  a  medallion  of  the  same  design, 
having  evidently  adorned  the  same  toga,  but  in  better  prepara- 
tion. The  ground  here  is  still  filled  in  with  red  wool,  and  the 
white  scrolls  and  circles  with  various  colors.  In  the  centre  of 
this  piece  of  work  is  the  conventional  little  bust  of  Christ  with  a 
yellow  halo  on  a  black  ground,  and  surrounded  by  a  black  border 
which  is  patterned  in  small  crosses  of  red,  green  and  yellow. 
This  is  early  Byzantine  work  and  is  of  the  fifth  century,  as  is  in- 
dicated by  the  graceful  scrolls  in  the  design  which  still  preserve 
a  Roman  character  and  are  graceful  despite  the  presence  of  the 
inartistic  little  bust.  No.  XXVI  screen  is  the  same  kind  of 
ornament  introduced  in  very  fine  linen  in  a  space  left  in  the 
weaving,  as  in  the  unembroidered  piece.  No.  XVIII  B  streen  is 
more  antique  and  artistic  in  design  than  No.  XXV  C,  being  work  of 
the  best  Roman  period.  At  that  epoch  embroideries  were  always 
made  with  a  ground  of  solid  color,  generally  black  or  one  of  the 


OLD  AND  NEW  LACE  IN  ITALY.  57 

numerous  shades  of  purple,  with  white  outlining.  This  piece  is 
probably  a  remnant  of  a  woman's  tunic  manufactured  about  300 
A.  D. 

No.  XXVII  screen  is  of  the  same  period  as  No.  XXVI,  but  it  is 
of  coarser  material  and  execution  and  may  have  formed  part  of  the 
wide  shoulder  embroidery  of  a  clovem  trimmed  tunic;  its  purple 
color  denotes  the  Roman  extraction  or  titular  distinction  of  its 
wearer.  No.  XXVIII  screen  is  part  of  a  square  of  stuff  woven  at 
the  same  period  but  the  ground  is  left  of  warp  alone,  the  weaver 
having  stopped  the  woof  on  each  side  when  he  reached  the  space 
to  be  embroidered,  thus  forming  a  selvedge.  This  piece  seems 
to  have  formed  part  of  a  tunic,  judging  from  the  wrong  side, 
which  is  too  untidy,  owing  to  the  long  threads  hanging  from  it, 
for  that  of  a  toga.  The  outlining  in  this  piece  of  embroidery 
was  executed  after  the  space  had  been  filled  in  with  the  woolen 
ground.  The  stitches  resemble  those  used  in  outlining  Sicilian 
drawn  lace. 

No.  XXIX  screen  is  of  the  same  period,  it  is  a  black  border 
worked  with  equal  neatness  on  both  sides  in  a  strip  of  warp  left 
in  weaving  a  fine  linen  toga.  The  design  represents  a  grape  vine 
with  the  white  thread  worked  in  before  the  introduction  of  the 
colored  wool. 

No.  XXX  screen  is  a  piece  of  narrow  border  which  is  of  more 
recent  execution.  The  design  is  artistically  drawn  and  repre- 
sents a  purple  dog  with  red  leading  strings  and  tongue  playing  in 
a  circle  formed  by  two  interlaced  scrolls,  the  corners  being  filled 
with  leaves  of  red  or  green.  This  border  may  have  trimmed  the 
toga  of  some  child,  for  its  effect  is  very  youthful  in  contradis- 
tinction to  that  of  all  the  other  pieces  in  our  collection. 

No.  XXXI  screen  and  the  two  numbers  following  it  date  back 
at  least  to  the  fifth  century.  No.  XXXI  is  coarsely  executed  in 
narrow  stripes  of  dark  ecru  running  at  regular  intervals  along 
the  length  of  the  white  etamine  or  cheese  cloth  material; 
between  these  stripes  a  basket  of  flowers  is  worked  in  parti- 
colored wools  and  without  any  white  outlining.  The  basket  is 
purple  and  is  marked  with  yellow  and  white  designs.  The 
flowers  are  indicated  by  vermilion  and  white  spots    on  a  dark  red 


58  OLD    AND    NEW    LACE    IN    ITALY. 

ground  surrounded  by  green  leaves.  This  embroidery  must  have 
decorated  a  woman's  toga  or  pallium  and  have  been  repeated 
at  regular  intervals  along  the  border.  No.  XXXII  A.  B.  and  C. 
screens  are  the  ends  of  scarfs  consisting  of  their  entire  width, 
and  belong  to  the  seventh  or  eight  century  of  our  era.  Xo. 
XXXII  A  ends  in  a  fringe  above  which  narrow  stripes  of  red 
wool  are  introduced,  after  an  inch  of  plain  weaving  in  linen 
thread;  then  come  six  inches  of  plain  weaving  followed  by 
two  or  three  rows  of  fancy  weaving  and  a  space  of  four  inches 
of  warp  left  for  the  embroidered  gobelin  border.  This  border 
has  a  red  ground  which  is  framed  on  either  side  by  a  black 
stripe  edged  with  yellow  and  dotted  with  little  yellow  squares 
at  regular  intervals.  Three  shields  which  may  have  been  coats- 
of-arms  are  embroidered  on  the  red  band  and  are  divided  by 
rows  of  a  kind  of  herring  bone  stitch  in  white  and  yellow  silk; 
between  these  is  repeated  an  oriental  allegorical  design  repre- 
senting the  tree  of  life.  The  middle  shield  is  adorned  with  a 
green  parrot  with  yellow  legs  outlined  in  black  and  white,  the 
other  two  contain  white  lions,  outlined  in  black;  everything 
is  upside  down  showing  in  this  work  that  the  embroidery  must 
have  been  done  before  the  material  was  removed  from  the  loom. 

Xo.  XXXII  B  screen  is  a  scarf  end  of  coarse  muslin  such  as  is 
in  use  to-day  in  the  East.  The  design  is  embroidered  in  the  same 
back  stitch  as  is  always  found  in  the  ordinary  kind  of  Oriental 
reversible  needle-work.  Its  discovery  proved  a  treasure  trove 
for  our  branch  of  textile  art,  for  it  has  a  needle-work  border  about 
the  edge  overcasting  and  ornamenting  the  hem  which  very  much 
resembles  modern  Turkish  work,  and  is  the  first  example  we 
possess  of  stitches  similar  to  those  used  in  modern  oriental 
embroidery,  as  may  be  seen  from  a  small,  three-cornered  piece 
which  has  been  placed  beside  it. 

No.  XXXII  C  screen  is  woven  in  the  same  way  as  Xo.  XXXII 
A,  the  embroidery  is  however  worked  in  golden  stitch  and  imitates 
the  jewelled  borders  we  see  on  the  Byzantine  mosaics  of  this 
period, 

No.  XXXIII  A  is  a  paralellogram  of  pure  Gobelin  tapestry 
sewed  on  a  piece  of  fine  linen   and  cunningly  wrought  with  the 


OLD  AND  NEW  LACE  IN  ITALY.  59 

needle  in  divers  colors.  When  new  it  must  have  been  resplen- 
dent for  the  design  is  most  elaborate.  In  each  upper  corner  of 
this  scrap  there  is  a  duck  standing  on  its  tail  with  its  feet  to  the 
right  and  its  head  to  the  left.  In  the  middle  of  the  design  there 
is  a  saint  seated  on  a  throne  holding  a  sword  in  his  right  hand. 
With  the  help  of  a  lively  imagination  we  discover  also  four  green 
and  yellow  dogs  or  lions  seated  on  their  haunches  along  the 
lower  border;  two  oblong  bias  strips  placed  at  right  angles  to  the 
saint's  neck  and  having  narrow  black  borders  spoked  with  yellow 
are  adorned  with  four  ducks  each,  all  in  a  row  and  standing  on 
their  tails  with  their  feet  and  toes  carefully  embroidered  in  mid 
air  to  the  right  of  their  breasts.  The  visitor  to  the  Italian 
woman's  section  may  not  discover  all  these  details  for  himself, 
but  it  is  well  to  know  that  they  exist,  as  it  shows  the  ludicrous 
combinations  which  the  debasement  of  drawing  and  its  subser- 
vience to  the  frenzy  for  colors  was  capable  of  producing  at  the 
epoch  of  Byzantium's  greatest  supremacy. 

No.  XXXIII  B  screen  is  a  piece  of  belting,  both  the  warp  and 
thewoof,  in  which  are  of  a  fine  indigo  color  upon  which  is  em- 
broidered in  white  thread  a  conventional  pattern  by  darning.  The 
effect  produced  being  that  of  the  so-called  "Alt  Deutsch"  work. 

No.  XXX  C  screen  is  a  red  stripe  darned  into  a  coarse  muslin 
and  evidently  forming  the  border  of  a  woman's  garment.  The  ef- 
fect obtained  in  the  treatment  of  the  design  also  has  its  counterpart 
in  the  needle  work  of  the  fifteenth  century  in  Europe;  it  is  of  par- 
ticular interest  with  regard  to  the  subject  we  are  treating  owing  to 
the  fact  that  between  the  rows  of  darned  work  the  warp  of  the 
textile  has  been  removed  and  the  remaining  threads  caught 
together  by  hemstitching,  such  as  we  use  on  the  edge  of  our 
handkerchiefs.  The  corners  of  these  two  samples  are  turned 
over  to  show  the  work  on  the  wrong  side. 

No.  XXXIV  screen  is  interesting  because  there  are  intro- 
duced, at  regular  intervals,  stripes  of  quadruple  woof;  and 
because  the  warp  which  has  been  made  to  take  the  form  of  birds 
and  tiny  squares  was  not  picked  out,  but  was  made  to  assume 
these  shapes  in  the  weaving,  and  also  because  the  fringe  is  hem- 
stitched, just  as  it  would  be  on  an  article  manufactured  today. 


t)0  OLD    AND    NEW    LACE    IN    ITALY. 

In  No.  XXXV  screen  we  have  the  sheer  material  we  call  gauze, 
so  often  depicted  on  vases  and  monuments  as  forming  the  garments 
of  goddesses  and  women  of  Greece,  Etruria  and  Rome,  some  of 
which  are  reproduced  among  our  designs. 

Homer  frequently  mentions  this  gauze;  thus,  in  Canto  V  of 
the  Illiad: 

"And  Pallas  disrobes;  her  radiant  veil  untied, 
With  flowers  adorn'd  with  art  diversified." 

And  in  Canto  VI: 

"  The  Phrygian  queen  to  her  rich  wardrobe  went, 
Where  treasured  odors  breathed  a  costly  scent; 
There  lay  the  vestures  of  no  vulgar  art — 
Sidonian  maids  embroidered  every  part, 
Whom  from  soft  Sidon  youthful  Paris  brought 
With  Helen,  touching  on  the  Tyrian  shore. 
Here,  as  the  queen  revolved  with  careful  eyes 
The  various  textures  and  the  various  dyes, 
She  chose  a  veil  that  shone  superior  far 
And  glowed  refulgent  as  the  morning  star." 

And  in  the  Odyssey  he  describes  this  material  as  forming 
part  of  the  costume  of  Ulysses: 

"  Fine  as  a  filmy  web  beneath  it  shone 
A  vest  that  dazzled  like  a  cloudless  sun." 

Lucian,  in  recounting  the  feast  offered  to  Caesar  by  Cleopatra, 
says  that  the  Queen's  costume  consisted  of  ''a  zvondrons  web  of 
thin  transparent  lawn!'  This  doubtless  means  a  gauze  embroid- 
ered in  silk,  like  No.  XXXV  screen,  which  is  unique,  and  represents 
two  crested  birds,  executed  in  embroidery,  such  as  is  produced 
to-day  in  large  quantities  at  Delhi  and  in  other  parts  of  India. 
The  raw  material  may  have  been  imported  from  that  country, 
but  Pliny  records  the  tradition  of  the  introduction  of  this  kind  of 
garment  into  Europe,  and  describes  its  manufacture  in  the  island 
of 

No.  XXXVI  is  a  gauze  veil  made  in  dark  blue  wool;  it 
has  a  fringe  composed  of  the  twisted  and  knotted  warp,  and  a 
white  silk  and  red  wool  stripe  forms  the  edge  above  this  fringe. 
It  is  also  adorned  with  several  other  stripes,  which  are  woven  in 
the  material  at  regular  intervals,  and  some  of  these  are  embroid- 
ered  in   letters  and  geometrical   designs,  with    darned    work    in 


OLD  AND  NEW  LACE  IN  ITALY.  6l 

white  silk;  so  that  what  forms  the  relief  on  the  right  side  consti- 
tutes the  ground  on  the  reverse,  as  in  the  belting  described  as 
No.  XXXIVC. 

We  have  now  reached  the  limit  of  close  embroidery,  or 
embroidery  without  real  open  work  in  the  design.  We  have 
already  met  with  hemstitching,  and  among  the  following  exam- 
ples in  the  glass  cases  near  the  African  work  there  will  be  found 
No.  XXXVII  B,  a  Turkish  scarf  belonging  to  Herr  von  Ugon.  It 
is  about  the  same  width  as  the  scarfs  No.  XXXII  A  B  C,  and  is 
embroidered  in  silver,  gold  and  shaded  silks  on  a  cotton  muslin 
ground,  and  the  same  stitches  as  in  the  Byzantine  work  will  be 
found  in  the  hearts  of  the  flowers,  while  the  silver  thread  draws 
together  the  light  ground  with  the  effect  of  Sicilian  Point; 
around  the  edge  runs  a  scallop  made  in  gold  thread  in  button- 
hole stitch,  forming  a  regular  needle  lace. 

No.  XXXVII  A,  cases  is  a  broader  scarf,  belonging  to  the  same 
exhibitor;  it  is  of  the  same  period  but  is  much  more  complicated 
in  execution.  Hungarian  and  Roumanian  embroidery  of  the  pres- 
ent day  have  preserved  and  developed  the  traditions  recorded  in 
this  piece  of  work.  The  lace  about  the  edge  is  of  a  curious  pat- 
tern, a  kind  of  difficult  macrame  made  with  the  needle  No. 
XXXVII  cases  also  belongs  to  Herr  von  Ugon's  collection  and 
is  the  artisque  knee-covering  made  for  a  curious  kind  of 
trousers  formerly  worn  on  the  Island  of  Rhodes.  The 
colored  embroidery  on  this  piece  of  muslin  has  geometrical 
designs  in  the  style  of  No.  XXXIV  C,  made  in  Sicilian  stitch  but 
without  the  second,  smaller  stitch  which  is  used  alternately 
and  draws  the  ground  together,  forming  the  open  work  or 
small  checkers,  from  which  the  tulle  ground  laces  have 
been  evolved.  Between  the  colored  bands  there  runs  a  verit- 
able Reticella,  executed  in  white  silk  with  the  stitch  of 
which  it  is  composed  woven  upon  the  threads  left  by  drawing 
out  the  woof,  which  is  the  same  as  that  used  in  embroidering  net 
laces,  and  in  making  reversible  gobelin  embroidery  so  that 
the  varied  openings  and  simple  stitches  of  this  narrow  insertion 
can  serve  to  bridge  the  chasm  which  lies  between  the  coarse  close 


62  OLD  AND  NEW  LACE  IN  ITALY. 

gobelin  ornaments  executed  in  dyed   wool  and   the   airy   fabrics 
of  respected  Venetian  points  and  guipures. 

No.  XXXIX  cases  is  a  veil  of  antique  embroidered  muslin  such, 
as  Turkish  ladies  are  in  the  habit  of  keeping  within  easy  reach  to 
throw  quickly  over  their  heads  on  the  entrance  of  a  visitor.  This 
veil  is  a  modification  of  the  classic  and  more  voluminous  Talia, 
which,  in  its  turn,  had  been  evolved  from  the  head  covering  used 
by  the  women  in  the  time  of  Moses.  The  design  of  this  piece 
is  thoroughly  Jewish  or  Assyrian  in  character,  with  its  stiff  trees 
and  regular  flower-pots  disposed  in  conventional  niches,  with  a 
minaret  over  each,  wrought  in  fine  reversible  gold  needle  work, 
filled  in  with  a  silk  ground  of  Sicilian  Point.  All  along  the 
edges  of  this  veil  hang  pots  of  lovely  silken  rose  bushes,  alter- 
nated with  baby  yew  trees  worked  in  exquisite  needle  point 
without  any  foundation,  Do  not  these  blossoms,  created  by  the 
needle,  recall  the  purple  and  scarlet  pomegranates  that  are  de- 
scribed as  hanging  between  the  bells,  at  the  bottom  of  Aaron's 
ephod?  They  are  made  on  a  narrow,  black  silk  footing  or  pas- 
sementerie, and  afterwards  sewed  to  the  veil.  The  stitch  in  which 
they  are  worked  is  the  same  as  that  used  in  the  Ogowe  cap;  they 
are  essentially  punto  in  Aria!  They  are  real  lace!  This  work  is 
complicated  in  design  and  difficult  of  execution.  It  is  still  made 
in  Turkey,  and  always  imitates  flowers,  leaves  and  bell-shaped 
blossoms,  buds  or  fruits.  The  Turkish  Embassador  at  Rome, 
who  took  a  kindly  interest  in  our  enterprise,  obtained  for  us  the 
seven  curious  samples,  exhibited  in  No.  XL,  in  the  cases  and 
told  us  that  the  Turkish  word  used  for  this  lace  is  the  term 
that  is  also  applied  to  fuschias,  hare-bells  and  other  hanging 
flowers,  as  well  as  to  dangling  ornaments  and  earrings  in  Turkey. 
No.  XLI  A  and  B  cases  are  other  pieces  of  Turkish  lace  which 
belong  to  Lady  Layard,  the  material  in  which  they  are  manu- 
factured is  white  silk  and  they  were  made  according  to  the  old 
Turkish  system  in  the  embroidery  schools  founded  under  her 
ladyship's  auspices  in  Constantinople.  In  these  laces  the  gar- 
lands and  sprays  of  flowers  are  made  to  interlace  while  preserv- 
ing the  bell-like  characteristics  of  the  antique  laces  from  which 
their  designs  have  been  adapted  to  modern  taste.     Turkish  ladies 


OLD    AND    NEW    LACE    IN    ITALY.  63 

at  present,  dress  like  their  European  sisters  and  the  real  and 
imitation  lace  they  wear  is  all  sent  with  their  toilettes  from  Paris; 
but  these  veils  and  scarfs  which  have  resisted  innovations  of 
French  fashion,  are  still  trimmed  with  narrow  Turkish  edgings. 
The  Constantinople  school  of  embroider}-  has  revived  many  old 
oriental  stitches  and  designs,  and  tends  to  keep  up  the  artistic 
traditions  of  Turkish  needle  work  and  its  influence  is  greatly 
appreciated  by  English  visitors  and  tradesmen,  and  a  ready  sale 
is  found  for  its  products. 

After  considering  with  so  much  care  all  these  early  efforts 
towards  the  production  of  needle  lace,  for  evidently  the  Turkish 
silk  laces  are  made  according  to  the  Jewish  traditions  which  had 
their  origin  in  Egypt,  the  following  deductions  seem  the  most 
plausible,  namely:  That  on  emerging  from  the  barbarity  attend- 
ant on  the  decline  and  fall  of  the  Western  Empire,  the  people 
of  Europe  began  to  realize  the  attraction  of  riches  obtained  by 
peaceful  barter  or  sales,  instead  of  snatched  with  rude  violence 
from  weaker  neighbors,  to  be  shortly  again  lost  by  the  same 
lawless  means  they,  in  their  turn,  meeting  a  stronger  oppo- 
nent. The  desire  of  artistically  adorning  their  persons,  their 
homes  and  above  all  their  churches  which  were  no  longer 
threatened  with  perpetually  recurring  pillage  and  destruction, 
quickly  followed  the  realization  of  stable  fortune.  Hidden  away 
behind  thick  walls  from  the  din  and  clatter  of  arms  raised  by  the 
boisterous  race  which  had  poured  out  from  the  north  and  over- 
run the  Roman  possessions,  the  sister  arts  of  embroidery  and 
lace-making  practised  by  the  cunning  daughters  of  the  needle 
were  still  to  be  found  in  the  dwellings  of  the  Jewish  and  oriental 
merchants  who  had  settled  on  every  part  of  the  Mediterranean 
coast.  Rich  and  rare  mediaeval  silk  laces  unrivalled  even  by  the 
most  celebrated  specimens  preserved  in  the  Christian  churches 
and  cathedrals  are  still  to  be  found  in  the  old  Italian  synagogues. 
The  energy  that  predominates  in  the  European  character  belonged 
alike  to  Jewish  teachers  and  to  their  Christian  pupils  and  caused 
them  to  exercise  their  vivid  imaginations  in  the  development  of 
these  arts  until  products  of  rarest  beauty  were  created  upon  our 
continent,  whereas  the  embroiderers  of  Oriental   race   who   have 


64  OLD    AND    NEW    LACE    IN    ITALY. 

ever  been  governed  by  an  almost  rabid  conservatism  have  re- 
mained without  developing  for  centuries,  thus  preserving  for  us. 
the  old  traditions  even  as  far  back  as  the  type  of  needle  work 
that  was  used  on  Aaron's  ephod  three  thousand  years  ago.  All 
the  silk  passementerie  and  the  gold,  silver  and  polychrome  laces 
of  the  earliest  renaissance  in  Italy  were  made  by  the  Jews,  who 
were  also  the  chief  producers  of  other  varieties  of  lace  in  Spain 
where  this  purple  was  richer  than  in  Italy  and  exhibited  much 
greater  luxury  in  the  appointment  of  its  places  of  worship  as  well 
as  in  its  homes  than  did  the  semi-barbarous  Christians.  When 
the  Jews  were  reduced  to  penury  by  perpetual  persecutions  and 
confiscations  which  ended  in  their  expulsion  from  Spain,  they 
made  use  of  these  arts  to  maintain  themselves  in  the  places 
whither  they  fled  and  as  there  was  a  constantly  increasing  demand 
for  trimmings  and  laces  all  over  Southern  Europe  they  were  able 
with  thrift  to  form  small  factories  in  which  they  employed 
apprentices  who  soon  became  skilled  workwomen  and  helped 
them  to  execute  the  numerous  orders  they  received.  These 
pupils  became  teachers  in  their  turn  and  spread  the  knowledge 
of  and  taste  for  laces  and  gimps  so  that  when  later  another  wave 
of  persecution  came  (this  time  turned  against  the  protestants) 
a  great  many  of  those  who  belonged  to  that  faith  had  learned 
lace-making  as  a  pleasant  pastime,  and  so  fleeing  to  protestant 
England,  Germany  and  Sweden,  carried  the  art  farther  afield 
becoming  diligent  bread-winners  and  intelligent  teachers  in  their 
turn.  But  another  cause  was  also  at  work  in  the  middle  ages 
long  before  the  protestant  persecutions  which  caused  the  Chris- 
tians to  eagerly  study  lace-making  so  as  not  to  require  Jewish 
assistance  in  the  production  of  lace. 

Perhaps,  like  many  ceremonies  in  the  Christian  Church  the 
custom  of  using  fringes  and  laces  on  the  vestments  of  the  priest 
and  on  church  linen  was  copied  from  the  Jewish  ritual,  but  when 
intolerance  and  cruelty  toward  the  Hebrew  race  prevailed,  the 
Christian  women  sought  to  learn  all  of  the  secrets  of  lace 
making  and  then  develop  new  varieties  of  lace;  their  piety  spur- 
ring them  to  intense  activity  by  horror  at  the  thought  of  decking 
the  altar  consecrated  to  the  Holy  Trinity  with  the  work  of  un- 


OLD    AND    NEW    LACE    IN    ITALY.  65 

believers.  The  art  once  implanted  among  the  pious  women  rap- 
idly became  a  source  of  amusement  and  rivalry  in  the  narrow 
lives  of  the  nuns  and  cloistered  ladies,  who  dedicated  all 
their  energies  deprived  of  natural  outlets,  to  the  invention  of 
new  stitches  and  more  wonderful  traceries,  both  in  lace  and  em- 
broideries, until  the  superb  Venetian  point  laces  and  needle 
paintings  sprung  into  existence  under  their  magic  touch.  These 
reflections  inspired  by  art  needle-work  and  lace  are  also  applica- 
ble to  bobbin  lace,  but  whence  came  it?  How  was  it  invented, 
or  evolved  out  of  weaving?  A  blue  lace  bound  the  diadem  upon 
the  brow  of  the  Jewish  High  Priest;  this  lace  cannot  have  bee*n 
simply  a  cord,  but  a  flat  fabric — for  tradition  says  it  was  wrought 
in  colors  and  fringed  at  the  ends,  resembling  a  passamenterie, 
gimp  or  macrame  lace — but  the  question  remains  unanswered  as 
to  whether  it  was  worked  with  bobbins;  and  writers  about  lace 
have  filled  pages  with  speculation  on  this  subject  and  quoted 
from  Moses  and  the  Prophets,  always  ending,  however,  with  the 
assertion  that  the  first  positive  evidence  of  the  existence  of  bob- 
bin lace  is  an  Italian  document  of  the  fifteenth  century,  of  which 
we  will  later  on  produce  a  part,  or  a  Dutch  woodcut  of  the  six- 
teenth century,  whilst  all  the  time  the  sands  of  Egypt  and  rich 
soil  of  Italy  have  been  reserving  their  incontrovertible  evidence. 

The  P.hrygians,  Assyrians,  Persians  and  other  inhabitants  of 
Southwestern  Asia,  like  the  Tartars  of  today,  all  wore  conical 
caps  and  introduced  the  use  of  this  headgear  into  the  countries 
to  which  they  emigrated,  or  with  which  they  traded.  To  the 
Phrygians,  who  very  early  over-ran  northern  Greece,  is  due  the 
use  in  that  country  of  woolen  caps  during  the  winter,  and  of 
flaxen  nets  shaped  as  conical  fillets,  during  the  warm  months. 

Caps  became  the  fashion  in  Egypt  with  the  introduction  of 
the  religion  of  Mythras  by  the  Persians,  the  priests  of  that  re- 
ligion retaining  them  even  while  officiating  and  they  were  every- 
where considered  a  sign  of  freedom  and  no  slaves  were  allowed 
to  wear  them;  for  the  ceremony  used  in  liberating  a  slave  con- 
sisted precisely  in  the  placing  of  a  red  cap  on  his  head  and  ac- 
claiming him  as  an  equal.  This  cap  was  sometimes  used  of  an 
etruncated  shape  like  the  fez  and  in  this  form  it  must  have  given 


66  OLD    AND    NEW    LACE    IN    ITALY. 

origin  to  that  Mahometan  head  covering  just  as  in  the  original 
pointed  shape  it  became  the  model  for  the  Doge's  conw  or  crown 
and  the  Liberty  caps  placed  on  the  heads  of  Brittania  and  her 
fair  daughter — Columbia,  although  the  original  color  was  aban- 
doned. 

In  the  days  of  the  French  craze  for  classicism,  the  Republicans 
re-dyed  this  emblem  of  liberty  in  the  blood  of  aristocrats  and 
waving  it  aloft  as  their  standard  acclaimed  it  with  its  original 
name  of  "  Phrygian  Cap."  Caps  of  this  shape  must  have  become 
universally  the  fashion  at  the  time  when  the  Persian  religion  of 
Mythras  gained  ascendancy  among  civilized  nations,  which  was 
just  before  the  Christian  era  and  its  communistic  tenets  resisted 
the  Christian  religion  in  Rome  even  after  the  general  conversion 
of  the  Latins  and  had  so  strongly  impressed  the  popular  mind 
that  some  of  its  forms  have  survived  in  the  present  rites  of  Free 

Masonry. 

No.  XLII  screen,  is  a  drawing  taken  from  a  bas  relief  in  the 
Louvre  museum  and  represents  these  caps  as  worn  by  the  priests 
of  Mythras.  We  may  judge  from  the  number  of  fragments 
of  them  found  in  the  graves  in  Panapolis,  that  they  were  universal 
in  use. 

No.  XLV  screen,  is  a  section  of  an  etruncated  woolen  cap; 
the  little  sketches,  A,  B,  C,  D,  show  the  way  in  which  it  was 
worn,  and  that  its  shape  must  have  greatly  resembled  that  of 
the  knitted  and  crocheted  ones  worn  by  our  own  young  people. 
The  winter  caps  were  made  of  red  wool,  or  were  striped  in  col- 
ors, with  a  card  in  the  edge  to  tighten  them  to  the  head  if  neces- 
sary. 

No.  XLVI  A  screen  and  No.  XL  VI I  A  screen  are  also  pieces  of 
the  same  kind  of  caps  while  No.  XLVI  B  and  No.  XLVII  B  are  new 
pieces  that  were  copied  from  them  by  t'e  young  lace  makers  in  the 
school  at  Brazza,  No.  XLVII  C  is  a  photograph  of  some  fragments 
numbered  12,  15,  16,  of  the  same  kind  of  work.  These  caps  are 
neither  knitted  nor  crocheted,  for  the  meshes  do  not  consist  of 
loops,  neither  are  they  embroidered,  for  the  threads  are  continu- 
ous and  we  find  no  knots.  All  the  learned  professors,  who  have 
seen  them,  unite  in  saying  they  were   interlaced  by   the   fingers, 


OLD  AND  NEW  LACE  IN  ITALY.  67 

but  how  they  cannot  tell,  as  they  have  found  no  lace  bobbirs  in 
connection  with  them;  still  they  are  made  with  bobbins,  for  with- 
out a  reel  at  the  end  of  the  threads  to  shorten  them  to  the  desired 
length  by  winding  them  around  something  while  working  it 
would  be  quite  impossible  to  avoid  most  hopeless  tangles  and 
whole  series  of  gordian  knots.  Allowing  for  the  difference  in 
wool  and  the  regularity  produced  by  constantly  working  the 
same  design,  the  copies  made  by  the  inexperienced  Italian  chil- 
dren in  the  lace  school  are  not  bad?  the  girls  worked  by  interlac- 
ing two  bobbins  instead  of  the  four  that  are  at  present  used  in 
in  the  manufacture  of  lace  and  they  were  forced  to  twirl  the  bob- 
bins from  left  to  right,  which  is  the  exact  contrary  of  the  twist 
now  given  and  very  aggravating  when  one  is  accustomed  to 
modern  work. 

No.  XLVII  B,  C,  D,  screen  show  the  manner  of  weaving  these 
caps  in  ancient  times  as  well  as  the  linen  thread  nets  in  summer, 
and  also  represents  a  Neapolitan  fisherman  with  one  of  these 
same  caps  which  are  still  worn  by  men  of  his  class  along  the 
coasts  of  Italy,  Spain  and  France. 

No.  XLVII  I  screen  is  a  perfectly  preserved  quarter  of  one  of 
the  thread  nets,  bound  with   red  wool. 

No.  XLIX  screen  is  a  quarter  of  a  lace  net,  executed  in  a 
different  design. 

Xo.  L  screen  is  a  well  preserved  and  fresh  looking  half  net 
of  more  elaborate  lace,  executed  with  remarkable  precision. 

No.  LI  case  is  unique  of  its  kind,  being  a  complete  lace  net 
or  bonnet  made  of  soft  thread  with  red  binding,  which  has  been 
placed  on  a  barber's  pole,  to  show  with  what  a  graceful  effect 
these  nets  were  worn.  Beside  it  there  is  placed  No.  LI  I,  giving 
an  idea  of  a  classic  lace  cushion  with  the  same  kind  of  lace  net 
mounted  on  it  in  process  of  execution  by  means  of  wooden  bob- 
bins copied  from  the  bone  ones  of  that  epoch  for  miribile  diciu. 
Last  spring  (1892),  while  we  were  in  Rome  planning  our  exhibit, 
Prof.  E.  Brizio,  director  of  the  Etruscan  Museum,  in  Bologna, 
was  excavating  among  the  ruins  of  the  old  Roman  town  of 
Claterna,  ten   miles    from    Bologna,  on    the    Emilian    Way,  and 


68  OLD    AND    NEW    LACE    IN    ITALY. 

St.   Ambrose  describes  it  as  already  classified  among  the  ruinous 
cities  in  A.  D.  393. 

Here,  at  the  bottom  of  a  filled-up  well  of  Roman  construction, 
the  professor  found  a  quantity  of  little,  solid,  long  wasp-shaped 
cylinders,  the  use  of  which  he  could  not  understand,  as  they 
resembled  none  of  the  Roman  implements  with  which  he  was 
acquainted,  nor  any  object  in  use  in  modern  times  ;  and  this  is 
natural,  considering  he  is  a  professor  of  quite  another  matter 
than  lace-making,  and  that  he  moveover  lives  in  a  part  of  the 
world  where  lace  is  not  at  present  produced.  Soon,  however,  the 
mystery  was  solved  for  him,  as  in  passing  a  bric-a-brac  dealer 
his  eye  was  attracted  by  a  lace-maker's  pillow  with  all  its  equip- 
ments on  exhibition  in  the  window.  He  at  once  recognized  that 
the  bobbins  hanging  from  this  pillow  were  the  counterparts  of 
his  curious  bone  cylinders,  which  clearly  proved  to  his  mind  that 
he  had  here  found  the  solution  of  the  enigma  not  only  of  the 
bobbins  from  Claterna,  but  also  of  a  similar  instrument  which 
had  been  for  years  in  possession  of  the  museum  at  Bologna. 

Another  proof  which  of  course  neither  he  nor  anyone,  who 
had  not  been  accustomed  to  the  manufacture  of  lace  could 
imagine,  lies  in  the  fact  that  the  bobbins  were  found  in  couples, 
or  in  groups  formed  of  couples,  with  the  exception  of  one  little 
heap  reduced  to  fragments,  out  of  which  he  composed  seven 
imperfect  bobbins,  beside  a  few  small  bits  .almost  reduced  to 
powder.  He  has  kindly  furnished  us  with  fac  similes  of  these 
valuable  proofs  in  the  history  of  lace-making  which  are  exhib- 
ited in  the  cases  under  Nos.  LIII  and  LIV. 

No.  LIV  (a)  cases  is  a  double-hooked  crochet  needle  which 
has  formed  part  of  the  collection  existing  in  the  museum  at 
Bologna  for  many  years,  and  no  one  knows  its  origin,  although 
it  is  supposed  to  be  Greek. 

Cavaliere  Augusto  Castellani  has  in  his  superb  gallery,  which 
is  full  of  Etruscan  and  Roman  antiquities,  a  great  many  of  these 
bobbins,  but  they  were  purchased  among  numbers  of  other  Roman 
relics  and  in  the  old-fashioned  way  without  inquiry  as  to  the 
details  attending  their  discovery;  they,  therefore,  attracted  no 
particular  attention;   indeed,    owing  to   their  shape,    they    were 


OLD  AND  NEW  I. ACE  IN  ITALY.  69 

thought  to  be  a  kind  of  stylus  for  writing  on  wax,  with  a  round 
head  or  classic  rubber  at  the  opposite  end  for  canceling  errors. 
The  cavaliere,  however,  seemed  quite  converted  when  he  observed 
that  the  knobs  were  often  decidedly  jagged  or  sharp  whereas  the 
end  which  should  have  been  pointed  (if  a  stylus)  was  usually  as 
blunt,  if  not  blunter,  than  the  knob.  During  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury, in  the  Hartz  mountains  and  on  the  coasts  of  the  North  sea, 
the  pioneers  of  pillow  lace  found  the  semi-barbarous  peasant  and 
fisher-women  making  elastic  caps  and  nets  for  the  men's  heads  by 
plaiting  threads  together  with  rude  bone  bobbins  used  by  twos 
instead  of  by  fours,  following  the  same  process  which  the  modern 
lace  girls  were  forced  to  adopt  in  imitating  the  Panopolis  lace 
nets.  History  adds  that  these  women  learned  with  surprising 
rapidity  the  art  of  complicated  lace  making,  and  became,  in  a 
short  time,  proficient  and  artistic  lace  makers.  Neapolitan  fisher- 
men and  Spanish  mule  drivers  of  to-day,  both  "on  and  off  the 
stage,"  cover  their  curly  locks  with  pointed  nets  made  in  red  silk 
or  wool,  and  in  the  time  of  the  troubadours,  gallants  and  pages 
alike  still  wore  them  as  we  see  depicted  in  portraits  and  historical 
paintings.  In  England  the  old  lace  makers  in  Devonshire  still 
call  their  bobbins  "bones,"  because  they  say  formerly  they  were 
made  of  small  pieces  of  sheep's  bones  and,  that  owing  to  this, 
they  call  their  bobbin  lace  "bone  lace." 

The  early  annals  of  England  and  other  countries  mention 
teaching  new  stitches  and  designs,  and  contain  notes  on  the 
importation  of  clever  teachers  from  other  parts  to  instruct  the 
natives  in  new  stitches  and  fresh  designs,  but  not  with  the  object 
of  founding  a  new  industry.  We  may  thus  consider  pillow-lace 
to  be  a  direct  inheritance  from  classic  times;  an  inheritance, 
which,  though  possessed  of  rich  possibilities,  long  lay  fallow  till 
in  the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth  centuries  it  was  found  of  easy  culti- 
vation and  productive  of  most  gorgeous  blossoms. 

Perhaps  longer  and  closer  study  than  was  possible  during  the 
few  months  at  our  command  in  which  to  prepare  this  exhibit 
would  bring  to  light  more  facts  about  the  origin  of  this  art  and 
search  still  further  into  the  remote  past.  After  the  long  journeys 
which  we  have  been  forced  to  take  for  a  field  in  search  of  the  earliest 


/O  OLD  AND  NEW  LACE  IN  ITALY. 

proofs  of  the  manufacture  of  lace,  we  will  enter  the  fair  gar- 
den in  which  the  splendid  flowers  and  luxuriant  grasses  of  nature 
have  been  transformed  by  the  magic  of  gentle  fingers  into  beau- 
tiful, curious  and  everlasting  hybrids,  formed  of  that  European 
kingdom  in  which  the  ideal  and  material  are  continually  at  war 
and  yet  ever  exert  an  artistically  happy  reaction  upon  each 
other,  and  once  in  Italy  we  will  not  again  leave  that  sunny  land, 
for  busy  merchants  will  bring  to  its  markets  the  produce  of  other 
countries  and  will  recount  narratives  of  what  they  saw  on  their 
travels.  But  before  crossing  the  threshold  of  the  Middle  Ages, 
we  must  take  one  more  peep  below  the  soil  and  see  what  remains 
of  the  costumes  of  the  Umbrians  and  the  Etruscans  of  the  civil- 
ized inhabitants  of  Italy  when  the  land  was  young. 

No.  LV  screen  represents  an  Umbrian  cinerary  urn  of  the  eighth 
century  B.  C.  These  urns  were  always  covered  with  a  veil  or 
cloth  and  the  rude  drawings  that  decorate  them  usually  represent 
a  net  with  dentated  edges  trimmed  with  tassels  and  much  resem- 
bling the  nets  used  in  the  well-known  Gitana  or  Spanish  Gipsy 
costume. 

No.  LVI  screen  is  the  design  of  an  archaic,  Greek  figure  with 
borders  painted  on  the  garments  to  represent  colored  embroidery. 
Some  writers  on  lace  speak  of  such  borders  as  evidences  of  the 
use  of  bobbin  lace  at  that  period,  but  it  strikes  us  that  this  forms 
but  a  weak  foundation  on  which  to  build  any  serious  argument. 
No.  LVIII  screen  is  a  figure  of  Minerva  copied  from  the  paint- 
ing on  one  of  the  Parthenopean  vases  of  about  the  fourth 
century,  B.  C. 

No.XXXVIII  screen  is  a  charmingly  graceful  figure  of  the  same 
Goddess,  beautifully  drawn,  and  is  copied  from  an  exquisite  vase 
in  the  Estruscan  Museum  in  Rome;  it  most  decidedly  appears  to 
reproduce  a  kind  of  open  work  or  lace  indicated  as  adorning  the 
edge  of  her  lighter  garments. 

Beside  this  figure  on  the  same  card' there  is  a  drawing  natural 
size,  of  a  bifurcated  netting  needle  exactly  like  those  which  are 
found  in  great  numbers  in  the  Tiber,  and  judging  from  its  small- 
ness  it  must  have  served  for  the  manufacture  of  fine  hair-nets. 

NO.  LVIII  screen  represents  a  golden  bracelet  or  cuff  of  the 


OLD  AND  NEW  LACE  IN  ITALY.  /I 

sixth  or  seventh  century  B.  C.  The  original  of  this  bracelet  was  evi- 
dently copied  from  needle  work  consisting  of  drawn  work  alter- 
nated with bandsof  linen;  it  was  found  in  the  Vetulonia  excavations 
made  in  1890,  and  belongs  to  the  Etruscan  Museum  in  Florence. 
Professor  Milani,  Director  of  that  institute,  which  is  the  first  of 
its  kind  in  Italy,  tells  me  that  there  exist  ample  proofs  of  the  use 
of  delicate  embroider}',  open  work,  net  and  woven  fringes  for 
the  embellishment  of  the  toilet  by  Greeks  and  Etruscans,  but  he 
feels  persuaded  that  bonafide  pillow  lace  made  with  bobbins  was 
unknown  to  these  peoples. 

While  talking  with  him,  I  observed  in  his  studio  a  Gr#ek 
platter  dating  from  the  end  of  the  fifth  century  B.  C;  it  was 
made  of  rare  white  "patritia"  and  on  it  was  depicted  the  nymph 
Arackne,  who  dared  to  compete  with  Minerva  in  the  arts  of  the 
loom  and  the  needle.  The  subjects  of  the  designs  she  composed 
were  more  earthly  than  were  those  of  the  austere  goddess,  and 
we  see  her  here,  seated  in  pensive  attitude  while  Eros  whispers 
advice  into  her  ear  and  one  of  his  companions  traces  a  scroll  on 
the  web  placed  before  her  which  is  designed  with  all  the  grace- 
ful curves  that  characterize  Venetian  point. 

Minerva  transformed  her  unhappy  rival  into  a  spider,  thus 
condemning  her  forever  to  weave  those  magic  circles  and  cob- 
webs with  which  vies  the  work  of  human  fingers  in  the  making  of 
lace.  This  Greek  legend  may  be  based  on  some  fact  adorned 
by  the  romantic  imagination  of  a  bygone  poet,  or  it  may  have 
originated  in  metaphor  alone,  in  any  case  to  its  inspiration  are 
due  the  charming  odes  of  the  Renaissance  in  which  the  poets 
perpetually  attribute  the  creation  of  the  arts  of  embroidery  to 
the  needle  of  Minerva,  while  the  invention  of  the  subtler  and 
more  delicate  art  of  lace  making  is  ascribed  to  Arachne.  These 
poets,  in  their  verses  entwined  the  ancient  Greek  fable  with  the 
arts  and  designations  of  lace  stitches  known  to  them  producing 
a  quaint  effect — even  as  the  fair  fingers,  whose  praises  they  sangv 
so  deftly  interlaced  the  threads  of  silk  and  gold. 

Thus  Agnolo  Firenzuolo  who  wrote  about  1520,  in  his  "Elegia 
sopra  un  Collaretto"  describes  with  loving  lingering  detail  a  piece 
of  lace  that  caught  his  fancy. 


^2  OLD    AND    NEW    LACE    IN    ITALY. 

Ouesta  collar  scolpe  la  donna  mia 
This  collar  was  sculptured  by  my  lady. 
Di  basso  rilevar  ch'  Arachne  mai. 
In  bas-reliefs  such  as  Arachne. 
E  chi  la  vinse.non  faria  piu  bello. 
And  she  who  conquered  her  ne'er  could  excel. 
Mira  quel  bel  fogliame  ch'  un  acanto. 
Look  on  that  lovely  foliage  like  an  Acanthus 
Sembra  che  sopra  un  mur  vada  carponi 
Which  o'er  a  wall  its  branches  trails. 
Mira  quei  fior  'ch  'un  candido  ne  cade. 
Look  on  these  pure  white  flowers. 
Vicino  al  seme  apre  la  boccia  1'  altro. 
Which  near  the  open  pods  hang  in  harmony. 
Quel'cordiglin  ch  '1  legan  d'ognintorno. 
That  little  cord  that  binds  each  one  about. 
Gome  si  levan  ben!  Mostrando  ch  'ella. 
How  it  stands  out,  proving  that  she  who  wrought. 
E'  la  vera  maestra  di  quest'  arte. 
Is  very  mistress  of  this  art. 
Come  ben  compartitison  guei  punti! 
How  well  distributed  arc  all  those  points! 
Ve  come  son  equal  quei  bottoncelli. 
See  the  equality  of  all  those  little  knobs. 
Come  s'alzano  in  guisa  d'un  bel  colle. 
Which  rise  as  fait  as  beauteous  hills. 
L'un  come  l'altro 
One  like  the  other. 

■Questi  merli  di  man  questi  trafori. 
This  hand  made  lace ;  this  open  work. 
Fece  pur  'ella  e  questa  punta  a  spina. 
Is  all  produced  by  her,  this  herring  bone. 
Che  mette  in  mezzo  questo  cordoncello. 
Which  in  the  midst  holds  dozen  a  little  cord. 
Ella  li  fe  pure,  ella  lo  fece. 
Is  (dso  made  by  her ;  all  wrought  by  her.  . 
No.  LXVII  cases  and  the  following  numbers  are  specimens  of 


OLD    AND    NEW    LACK    IN    ITALY.  J} 

the  various  implements  used  in  spinning,  knitting,  embroidery 
and  lace-making  throughout  the  ages. 

No.  LYII  is  a  distaff  used  for  spinning  flax  and  was  made 
by  a  peasant  of  Moruzzo,  the  township  in  the  province  of  Friuli, 
in  which  the  Castello  di  Brazza  is  situated.  This  distaff  ends  in 
a  colored  ball  and  is  beautifully  and  artistically  carved,  the  inspi- 
ration of  the  original  design  having  come  from  the  heart  of  the 
carver  who  made  it  as  a  gift  to  his  affianced.  On  it  he  has  rep- 
resented their  persons,  their  homes  and  their  hearts,  four-leaved 
clovers,  horse-shoes,  and  an  infinity  of  other  emblems  of  love  and 
fortune.  Hanging  from  it  is  the  spindle  and  it  is  attached  to  the 
wall  by  the  wrought  brass  pins  by  which  the  peasant  women  sup- 
port the  distaff,  utilizing  their  belts  as  rests  while  spinning  as  they 
walk  along  the  roads  or  following  the  sheep  across  the  pasture. 

No.  LXYI  wall  was  carved  by  the  same  man  later  in  life,  as  a 
gift  to  his  daughter;  the  hearts  are  therefore  represented  as  having 
flowered  truly  a  very  pretty  and  poetic  conceit,  for  an  unedu- 
cated peasant.  The  end  of  this  distaff  consists  of  a  two-pronged 
brass  fork   resembling  a  trident   which  is  used    in   spinning  wool. 

These  two  simple  implements,  rendered  so  artistic  by  an  untu- 
tored hand  inspired  by  love,  form  a  true  illustration  of  the  affec- 
tionate nature  and  devotion  to  the  beautiful  that  characterize  the 
Italian  people  in  general,  so  that  lace  making  and  straw  plating 
which  require  taste  as  well  as  skill,  come  naturally  to  every 
daughter  of  the  people. 

No.  LYII  I  i,  2,  3,  4,  5,  j,S,  g  cases  are  specimens  of  the  spindle 
whirls  used  in  spinning  by  hand  in  different  parts  of  the  world. 
They  date  from  the  period  of  stone  age  and  the  lake  dwellers 
down  to  the  present  day. 

In  Europe  the  spinning  wheel  was  early  invented,  but  in  cer- 
tain parts  of  Italy  the  women  still  prefer  the  old  fashioned  distaff 
which  enables  them  to  spin  at  odd  times  when  it  would  be  impos- 
sible to  use  a  wheel. 

No.  LVII1  (b)  cases  is  a  complete  ivory  spindle  of  classic 
times  and  was  found  in  Greece.  Such  specimens  as  this  are 
extremely  rare. 

No.  LYII  I  10  cases  is  the  only  wooden  spindle   with  earthen- 


74  OLD  AND  NEW  LACE  IN  ITALY. 

ware  whirl  attached  which  has  been  as  yet  discovered.  It  was 
found  at  Achmin,  Panapolis,  and  might  have  served  to  spin  the 
flax  out  of  which  some  of  our  specimens  of  stuffs  were  woven. 

No.  LX  cases  are  twenty-three  Peruvian  specimens,  and 
date  from  a  time  long  anterior  to  the  discovery  of  America 
by  Christopher  Columbus.  They  are  also  especially  interesting 
in  connection  with  our  subject  as  the  mummies  with  which  they 
were  found  were  clothed  in  the  same  kind  of  textiles  as  those 
found  at  Achmin,  thus  showing  that  a  kindred  civilization 
existed  at  an  early  date  in  the  old  and  new  world,  the  evidence 
afforded  by  the  one  necropolis  completing  and  corroborating 
that  of  the  other. 

We  have  here  also  spindles  and  knitting  and  other  needles 
with  the  yarn  still  on  them,  covered  by  small  cases  to  protect 
their  points,  as  also  an  ordinary  ball  of  blue  cotton  that  might 
have  come  from  the  work  basket  of  a  modern  housewife. 

No.  LX  (b)  cases  is  a  fac-simile  of  the  already  mentioned 
double-hooked  crochet  needle  which  is  preserved  in  the 
Etruscan  Museum  in  Bologna. 

No.  LXI  (a,  b,  c)  cases  is  a  sketch  made  by  Herr  R.  Torrer,  of 
very  rare  prehistoric  needles,  which  it  was  impossible  to  borrow, 
or  have  duplicated  in  time  for  the  Exhibition.  It  will  be  noticed 
that  A  and  B  (natural  sizes)  which  were  taken  from  the  homes  of 
of  the  cave  dwellers  of  Thayngen,  are  more  perfect  in  form  than 
is  D,  a  bone  needle  (also  natural  size)  of  the  stone  age  from  the 
lake  dwellings  at  Bauchanze  on  Lake  Zurich.  The  cave 
dwellers  were  in  many  things  more  civilized  than  were  their 
successors,  the  lake  dwellers,  and  must  have  embroidered  on 
leather  with  quills  and  grasses,  and  dressed  and  lived  as  do 
their  prototypes,  the  Esquimaux  and  the  Alaskan  Indians 
todav. 

No.  LXI  D  cases  is  a  drawing  of  a  wooden  hook  which  is  now 
in  the  Swiss  National  Museum  at  Zurich.  It  has  a  disc  to  facilitate 
the  boring  of  holes  in  skins  or  textiles,  while  the  hook  served  to 
draw  through  the  thread  or  grass  destined  to  form  a  fringe  or 
embroidery. 

No.  LXI  I  cases  consists  of  nine  antique  needles.  Nos.  I,  2,  3,  4 


OLD    AND     NEW     LACE     IN     ITALY.  75 

arc  examples  of  the  early  "  bores"  called  "  prieme"  the  use  of  which 
preceded  that  of  needles  as  shaped  and  used  by  us.  No.  2  is 
made  of  rudely  carved  bone,  and  dates  from  the  lake  dwellings 
of  the  Stone  Age;  3  and  4  arc  of  bronze  and  are  from  lake  dwell- 
ings of  the  Bronze  Age;  while  5  is  a  knobbed  prieme,  or  eyeless 
needle  of  horn  from  the  lake  dwellings  of  the  Stone  Age.  In 
using  this  kind  of  implement  a  hole  was  bored  with  the  point 
and  then  it  served  to  draw  through  the  thread  tied  to  its 
knobbed  head.  No.  6  is  the  same  kind  of  instrument  from  the 
Lake  Dwellings  of  the  Bronze  Age.  No.  7  is  a  coarse,  round 
eyed  needle  of  the  Bronze  Age,  from  Italy.  No.  8  is  a  fine  long 
eyed  needle  of  the  Bronze  Age  from  the  lake  dwellings  of  the 
Groserzafen  on  Lake  Zurich. 

No.  LXIII  cases  is  a  drawing  of  a  most  elegantly  designed 
needle  stuck  through  a  coil  of  gold  thread.  It  was  found  in  a 
tomb  at  Vesentium,  and  is  now  the  property  of  the  Etruscan 
Museum  in  Florence. 

Under  No.  LXL  are  exhibited  six  fac  similes  of  the  Roman 
bone  bobbins  found  last  May,  1892,  by  Professor  Brizio  at  Cla- 
terna,  which  we  have  already  mentioned,  and  which  are  now  lying 
with  the  others  found  at  the  same  time  in  the  Bologna  museum, 
while  the  seventh  and  smallest  bobbin  is  the  one  which  previ- 
ously existed  in  the  rich  Roman  collection  at  the  museum  and  its 
origin  is  unknown.  Finally  we  exhibit  four  wooden  bobbins, 
such  as  are  used  in  the  great  centers  of  Italian  lace  making, 
namely,  Venice,  Genoa  and  Cantu  (near  Milan,)  and  one  of  the 
covered  kind  used  in  Saxony,  which  his  been  adopted  in  Friuli, 
because  it  keeps  the  thread  cleaner.  In  closing  this  division  of 
our  book  which  refers  exclusively  to  the  production  of  woman's 
agile  fingers  when  the  art  of  needle  and  bobbin  lace  making  was 
in  its  infancy,  we  present  a  little  ragged  child's  sock  of 
great  rarity  and  value  though  apparent  worthlessness.  No. 
LXVIII  cases  is  the  earliest  known  example  of  knitting 
and  the  only  socks  as  yet  found  in  the  excavations  of  Achmin's 
Panopolis.  It  is  ribbed  and  striped  in  red,  purple  and  black, 
the  knitting  being  executed  with  great  neatness  and  loving  care. 
so  as  to  assure  the  comfort  and  protection  of  the  little  foot  it  was 


70  OLD  AND  NEW  LACE  IN  ITALY. 

destined  to  cover  from  the  chilling  blasts  of  winter,  and  it  is  so 
well  preserved  that  one  might  doubt  its  authenticity  did  not  the 
divided  toes  and  seamless  heal — the  instep  being  seamed  instead 
— prove  it  to  have  been  made  to  wear  with  a  Roman  sandal,  of 
which  the  strap  fitted  the  holes  (existing  between  the  toes  and 
on  the  instep)  one  thousand  five  hundred  years  ago! 

As  we  look  on  this  most  ancient  baby  sock,  this  little  relic  so 
long  preserved  in  the  vast  ocean  of  Egyptian  sands,  to  be  at  last 
cast  up  for  our  instruction  and  to  show  us  that  the  world,  in 
many  things,  has  not  changed  so  much  as  we  often  imagine  and 
we  are  led  to  realize,  that  mothers  spun  and  knitted  to  keep  their 
children  warm,  and  that  little  ones  ran  and  jumped  and  wore  out 
clothes  and  patience  then,  just  as  they  do  now.  These  thoughts 
cause  a  great  tenderness  to  swell  up  in  the  feminine  heart  toward 
the  long  past  generation,  and  the  dry  bones  and  dust  are  again 
clothed  with  life.  Plainly  we  see  before  us  the  little  Christian 
lads  of  Panopolis  clattering  through  the  great  gates,  and  off  to 
school  with  sandaled  feet  and  their  agile  bodies  clothed  with 
tunics  and  warm  togas  trimmed  with  pretty  designs  illustrative 
of  thoughts  pleasing  to  children,  while  their  heads  are  covered 
with  the  long  bright  woolen  caps,  such  as  we  have  exhibited,  and 
each  boy,  with  strapped  slate  and  tablet  slung  across  a  shoulder, 
gives  himself  an  air  of  importance  and  manliness,  though  his 
young  mind  is  much  more  intent  on  fun  and  frolic,  and  tricks 
innumerable,  than  on  the  difficult  passages  in  the  history  of 
Julius  Caesar,  his  Latin  grammar  or  his  Greek  translation. 


OLD   AND    NEW*  LACE    IN    ITALY.  7/ 


PART  III. 


The  Renaissance. 

The  word  renaissance  ( literally  re-birth)  is  accepted  as  the  def- 
inition of  the  awakening  of  the  European  mind  to  beauties  in 
nature,  art  and  literature,  from  the  profound  sleep  and  troubled 
dreams  of  superstition,  interrupted  by  the  long  nightmares  of 
barbarian  and  Gothic  invasions  which  followed  upon  the  fearful 
orgies  in  which  the  Roman  empire  expired. 

The  Christian  church  in  its  teaching  and  decorations  preserved 
a  tradition  of  the  past,  but  the  heavenly  flame  of  art  was  so  bur- 
ied beneath  the  ashes  of  strife,  controversy  and  narrow-minded- 
ness, that  the  feeble  spark  which  perpetuated  its  eternal  fire  was 
unrecognizable. 

In  Byzantium  alone  it  flickered  up  a  little  amid  the  gorgeous 
costumes  and  decorations  of  church  and  court  which  warmed  the 
imagination,  and  here  as  in  Sicily — which,  owing  to  its  insular 
form  and  its  southern  position,  suffered  less  acutely  from  inva- 
sions— we  find  that  the  gentle  art  of  lace-making  continued. 

When  the  Saracens  conquered  Northern  Africa,  Sicily  and 
Spain,  they  caused  the  inhabitants  to  instruct  them,  as  well  as  to 
assist  them  in  producing  and  perfecting  articles  for  which  they 
were  already  celebrated. 

No.  70,  from  A  to  Y  inclusive,  on  the  screen,  consists  of  a  few 
precious  rags  found  in  an  Hyspano-moresque  tomb  of  the  elev- 
enth or  twelfth  century.  They  fill  the  void  between  the  lace  caps 
of  Achmin-panopolis  and  the  first  examples  of  Venetian  work, 
and  they  give  us  the  earliest  piece  of  point  lace  made  entirely 
with  a  needle  and  thread  without  other  material  used  as  a  founda- 
tion. These  samples  are  in  a  much  worse  state  of  preservation 
and  are  much  more  fragile  than  those  from  Achmin,  being  appar- 


7»  OLD  AND  NEW  LACE  IN  ITALY. 

ently  records  of  a  more  remote  date,  but  this  condition  is  pro- 
duced by  the  difference  of  climate. 

No.  70  a,  screen,  is  a  piece  of  lace  knotted  as  in  Pwito  in  Ana 
and  made  entirely  with  the  needle  out  of  linen  thread,  well 
waxed  so  as  to  stiffen  it,  and  wound  with  gold  foil;  it  formed  a 
part  of  a  helmet-shaped  head  dress. 

No.  70  d,  screen,  is  a  piece  of  red  ribbon  used  to  cover  the 
seams  which  united  the  four  quarters  of  the  above-mentioned 
head  dress,  and  is  braided  in  fine  gold  and  silver  thread  spun 
with  linen  or  cotton,  as  is  done  in  the  East  to-day.  The  design 
of  the  braiding  is  roughly  sketched  on  the  card  board  by  the 
side  of  the  ribbon,  as  is  also  that  of  the  broader  ribbon,  joe,  used 
to  edge  the  head  dress. 

No.  70  e,  screen,  is  a  piece  of  the  finest  gauze  veiling  woven 
of  silk  or  flax.  It  was  evidently  used  under  the  head  dress  and 
allowed  to  float  loose  over  the  hair  and  shoulders  so  as  to  be 
drawn  across  the  face  when  desired. 

No.  70/  screen,  is  a  piece  of  the  border  of  such  a  veil  wrought 
in  silver  with  groups  of  tiny  silver  tassels  at  regular  intervals, 
which  must  have  had  a  charming  effect  in  the  sunlight  when  all 
was  new,  white  and  dazzling. 

No.  70  h,  screen,  is  a  piece  of  thin  material  striped  in  silver  and 
gold,  such  as  we  call  bayadere  stuff,  and  may  be  a  piece  of  the 
skirt  or  shawl  which  formed  part  of  this  costume. 

No.  707  is  a  piece  of  the  same  kind  of  material,  bordered 
with  a  very  fine  fringe,  and  evidently  is  part  of  a  scarf  or  sash. 

No.  70  i  is  a  piece  of  fine  thin  cloth  of  gold. 

No.  70  g  is  a  piece  of  real  bobbin  lace,  composed  of  aloes 
fibre  instead  of  flax,  such  as  was  made  everywhere  in  the  islands 
and  on  the  northern  coast  of  the  Mediterranean  for  centuries, 
and  it  shows  a  great  advance  in  workmanship  from  the  lace  of 
Achmin-Panopolis,  for  here  the  bobbins  are  used  in  pairs  in- 
stead of  single,  that  is  to  say  four  are  interwoven  instead  of  two, 
and  the  threads  are  therefore  combined  in  the  same  way  as  every 
lace-maker  twirls  them  to-day. 

In  the  little  sketch  No.  70  II  we  have  the  whole  head-dress  re- 
constructed in  its  bright  original  colors  and  the  mind  at  once  reverts 


OLD    AND    NEW    LACK    IN    ITALY.  79 

to  the  Crusades  and  Richard  Coeur  de  Lion,  Saladin  and  the  fair 
women  made  so  popular  by  Sir  Walter  Scott  in  his  novel  of 
Jvanhoe;  and  as  we  continue  to  gaze,  these  heroes  and  heroines 
•of  a  bygone  age  become  materialized  and  move  and  breathe  in 
actual  reality,  called  into  life  by  these  old  Moorish  rags,  causing 
us  to  realize  that  with  all  the  riches  and  barbaric  splendor,  move- 
ment and  strife  of  this  epoch,  the  art  of  lace  making  continued 
to  develop. 

Under  the  last  of  the  western  emperors,  the  Goths  and  the 
Byzantines,  Rome  was  abandoned  as  the  capital  and  seat  of  gov- 
ernment in  Italy  transferred  to  the  more  easily  fortified  seaport 
of  Ravenna.  In  the  mosaics  that  adorn  this  city's  unique  basil- 
icas, which  were  constructed  in  the  sixth  century,  are  found  the 
only  perfect  remains  of  Italian  art  of  that  period,  and  it  will  be 
seen  from  the  photographs  exhibited  by  Countess  Passolini  with  the 
lace  from  her  school  at  Coccalia,  that  the  Empress  Theodora  and  the 
ladies  who  formed  her  court  wore  costumes  composed  of  the 
same  stuff  as  the  fragments  from  Achmin;  one  of  the  ladies  in 
particular  carries  over  her  arm  a  worked,  fringed  veil  resembling 
those  still  in  use  in  Turkey,  which  is  interesting  in  illustrating 
our  special  branch  of  textile  art. 

No.  71  screen  is  a  narrow  piece  of  blue  bobbin  lace  of  which  three 
examples  only  are  known  to  exist  in  Italy.  It  was  sent  in  the  eleventh 
century  from  Constantinople  to  Spezia,  then  known  as  Lewi.  The 
blue  square  mesh  ground  is  made  entirely  by  bobbins,  and  is  the 
same  as  that  of  all  old  Italian  and  Sicilian  lace,  in  aspect  resem- 
bling a  very  fine  net.  It  is  embroidered  with  little  white  birds, 
made  in  the  same  darning  stitch  as  was  used  in  the  Gobelin 
style  of  embroidery  found  at  Achmin.  This  kind  of  lace  must 
have  been  the  Lacinia  of  the  Latins,  from  which  the  English  term 
lace  is  derived,  and  was  in  general  use  in  the  twelfth  and  thir- 
teenth centuries.  References  are  constantly  found  in  old  books 
to  blue  "borders"  or  "friezes"  embroidered  in  white  birds  and  lions 
which  evidently  was  this  kind  of  work. 

No.  72  cases  is  an  altar  cloth  trimmed  with  a  variety  of  this 
blue  lace  embroidered  in  white,  exhibited,  as  well  as  many  of  the 
following  examples,  by  Mrs.   Arthur   Bronson,  of   Venice.     In  it 


8(3  OLD    AND    NEW    LACE    IN    ITALY. 

the  design  is  of  the  fifteenth  century  and  the  bobbin  ground 
(called  maqlia  quadra),  and  the  embroidery  is  much  more  roughly 
executed  than  in  No.  71.  It  has  a  pretty  blue  and  white  antique  pil- 
low lace  called  "camfi/zne"  sewed  on  the  edge.  The  mixing  of  two 
or  more  colors  was  very  fashionable,  as  were  also  all  the  poly- 
chrome or  divers  colored  laces  in  the  fifteenth  century.  The  per- 
fection of  the  campane,  or  edging,  and  the  negligence  in  the  exe- 
cution of  the  Byzantine  lace  in  No.  71  prove  the  change  of  style 
which  had  occurred  before  its  manufacture,  for  in  the  fifteenth 
century  this  lace  which  could  but  produce  a  stiff  effect  rapidly 
lost  ground  before  the  newer  and  more  varied  and  graceful  trim- 
mings, composed  of  embroidered  net,  and  of  "punto  agroppo"  now 
called  Macrameand  complicated  bobbin  laces.  The  following  are 
also  examples  of  Byzantine  lace,  or  "maglia  quadra,"  and  show 
what  rich  effect  could  be  produced  in  this  simple  kind  of  work 
with  symmetrical  designs  and  happy  blending  of  materials  and 
colors. 

No.  500  cases  is  made  with  a  blue  silk  ground,  embroidered 
in  buff  silk  and  white  thread;  it  belongs  to  Signora  Antoinette 
Costa  of  Rome,  as  does  No.  488  cases,  which  is  a  piece  made  all 
in  white  linen  thread,  and  destined  for  use  on  the  end  of  a  towel. 

No.  86  cases  is  the  same  kind  of  lace,  but  produces  a  very 
different  effect,  the  ground  being  made  in  thread  of  aloes  dyed 
brown,  and  embroidered  in  "punto  ascacchetti"  or  square  point  with 
an  unconventional  pattern  executed  in  silks  exquisitely  tinted  in 
brown,  heliotrope,  green  and  yellow. 

No.  78  cases  belongs  to  Mrs.  Bronson.  The  ground  is  made 
with  soft  floss-like  ecru  thread  and  embroidered  with  "punto  a 
spina,"  or  "thorn  stitch,"  in  delicate  buff  yellow  and  peacock  blue 
and  green  silk.  Along  the  edge  runs  a  most  interesting  and  rare 
antique  polychrome,  "campane"  lace  of  fine  silk.  This  repeats 
the  colors  and  the  design  of  the  wider  lace,  and  was  evidently 
made  on  purpose  to  edge  it. 

No.  339  screen  is  an  interesting  sample  of  the  same,  dating 
from  the  twelfth  or  thirteenth  century,  to  judge  from  the  design, 
and  is  embroidered  in  red  and  green  silk. 


OLD    AND    NEW    LACE    IN    ITALY.  Si 

No.  341  screen  is  embroidered  in  cream  and  blue  silk  and  dates 
from  the  fouueenth  century. 

No.  347  screen  is  embroidered  in  red  silk  and  belongs  to  the 
same  period. 

The  designs  in  Nos.  355  and  357  screens  indicate  work  of  the 
early  part  of  the  sixteenth  century. 

A  modified  Byzantine  lace  was  also  made  entirely  with  bob- 
bins and  fine  white  thread.  It  consisted  of  narrow  bands  of  a  close 
ground,  ornamented  by  the  simple  geometrical  designs  or  stiff 
conventional  flowers,  outlined  in  open  work,  small  as  pin  holes. 

The  sample  No.  95  screen  and  the  frill  in  the  pink  and  silver 
brocaded  baby  cap  No.  130  (of  the  sixteenth  century)  are  of 
this  lace;  it  was  used  throughout  Europe  to  trim  baby  clothes, 
and  is  still  to  be  found  on  antique  baptismal  garments,  (such  as 
for  example  the  brocaded  cap)  which  have  been  religiously  pre- 
served in  certain  old  families  on  the  continent  and  in  England 
from  generation  to  generation. 

Mrs.  Bury  Palliser  in  her  celebrated  book  on  lace  speaks 
of  this  baptismal  lace  as  well  as  of  blue  wedding  lace  which 
was  made  at  Coventry  in  England,  during  the  middle  ages,  and 
which  it  was  the  custom  to  distribute  to  all  members  of  the 
bridal  party.  She  quotes  an  account  of  Queen  Elizabeth's  visit 
to  Kenilworth,  in  which  the  youths  of  that  parish  are  described 
as  walking  in  front  of  the  procession  carrying  branches  of 
fresh  broom  and  wearing  "blue  bridal  lace  as  if  they  were  grooms- 
men at  a  wedding."  With  the  spread  of  puritanism  and  of  the 
harsh  decrees  it  inspired,  the  old  custom,  like  many  others,  died 
out  in  England,  as  did  also  the  manufacture  of  the  celebrated 
blue  thread  in  Coventry.  Mrs.  Palliser  adds  that  no  relics  of 
this  lace  now  remain  in  England,  but  it  must  have  resembled  the 
above  examples.  In  this  case  as  in  many  others,  we  find  proofs 
of  the  much  earlier  Renaissance  of  the  arts  in  Italy  than  in  Eng- 
land, embroidery  alone  excepted,  this  is  explained  by  the  fact 
that  a  powerful  unbroken  tradition  remained  in  the  English  con- 
vents of  the  artistic  needle-work  learned  from  the  Phrygians,  so 
that  the  ''opus  phrygianum"  of  the  ancients  was  merged  in  the 
celebrated    and    even    more  beautiful    "opus  Anglicanun."     The 


82  OLD    AND    NEW    LACE    IN    ITALY. 

frigidity  of  the  climate  tended  to  keep  the  women  at  home  and 
alive  to  the  attractions  of  a  sedentary  occupation  which  they 
could  follow  beside  the  hearth,  and  it  naturally  caused  them  to 
prefer  embroidery  to  lace;  airy  open  work  and  transparent 
fabrics  not  being  suited  to  their  cold,  sunless,  stonebuilt  homes, 
either  for  household  or  personal  linen,  until  time  and  fashion 
introduced  luxury  in  the  household  appointments,  and  collars, 
frills  and  cuffs  as  adornments  to  necks  and  sleeves,  these  be- 
coming objects  being  purely  accessories  of  the  toilet,  the 
volume  and  not  the  quality  of  which  could  affect  physical  com- 
fort. 

The  first  examples  of  lace  and  pit/ito  tagliato  in  England,  such 
as  the  shroud  of  St.  Cuthbert,  who  was  buried  in  Durham  cathe- 
dral in  the  twelfth  century,  and  his  vestments  which  are  preserved 
in  the  library  of  the  chapter  as  well  as  the  open  work  and  lace 
reproduced  on  the  earliest  monuments,  all  belong  to  the  ecclesi- 
astics, and  may  have  been  brought  from  Italy  as  attributes  of  the 
church  ritual  in  exchange  for  the  English  embroideries  so  much 
prized  by  the  popes  and  cardinals  in  Rome.  We  find,  however, 
that  in  1863,  under  Edward  IV,  gold  and  silk  lace  trimmed  the 
garments  of  the  laity,  for  an  edict  which  that  monarch  then  pro- 
mulgated forbade  their  use.  They  were  all  imported  from  Italy, 
and  Richard  III,  at  his  coronation  in  1438,  wore  a  robe  of  crimson 
satin  laced  with  two  bands  of  gold  and  silk  passemeiit,  which  had 
been  made  in  Venice  on  purpose  for  this  occasion. 

The  Queen  of  the  Adriatic,  owing  to  her  commercial  inter- 
course with  Byzantium  and  the  Orient,  was  throughout  the  Mid- 
dle Ages  the  most  luxurious  and  refined  city  of  Europe,  and  from 
a  very  early  date  in  her  existence  minute  descriptions  of  cos- 
tumes with  the  prices  paid  for  their  component  parts  were  noted 
in  documents  which  have  been  carefully  preserved  in  her  state 
archives.  Thus,  in  12 19,  we  learn  from  an  old  account  book  that 
tailors  charged  twice  as  much  for  a  border  of  needle-work,  called 
"fregio"  or  "frixatura,"  as  they  did  for  one  of  fine  fur,  which  indi- 
cates that  the  work  must  have  been  very  elaborate.  Frequent 
allusions  to  various  kinds  of  trimmings  are  found  in  the  registers 
kept,  during   the  fourteenth    century,  by  the  Venetian  customs 


OLD    AND    NEW    LACK    IN    ITALY.  83 

officers  as  well  as  in  the  account  books  and  records  of  lawsuits, 
divisions  and  wills  belonging  to  private  families.  In  the  earliest 
mosaics  of  the  church  of  St.  Mark  these  trimmings  are  also  rudely 
represented  alike  on  the  garments  of  grotesque  saints  and  disfig- 
ured mortals;  they  are  also  reproduced  with  minute  faithfulness 
of  detail  in  the  more  gracefully  executed  miniatures  which  enrich 
the  manuscripts  of  that  period. 

No.  89  screen  is  taken  from  a  manuscript  of  the  thirteenth 
century,  which  contains  the  statutes  and  by-laws  of  the  guild  of 
Bologna  bakers;  it  represents  an  angel  presenting  St.  Mary  Mag- 
dalen, who  is  depicted  as  kneeling  in  her  hermitage,  with  a  scarf 
or  toga  edged  with  a  blue  lace  border  and  fringe. 

No.  1 13  screen  consists  of  four  sketches  taken  from  the  illum- 
inated headings  of  the  "Rotu/i,"  or  rolls  of  the  University,  which  are 
preserved  in  the  Archives  of  Bologna,  those  chosen  for  reproduc- 
tion being  dated  from  1439  to  1455.  In  them  the  bishop,  Petron- 
ius,  the  martyr,  and  (Patron  Saint  of  Bologna),  is  represented  in 
full  canonicals  with  his  right  hand  raised  in  the  act  of  blessing 
the  University,  whilst  in  his  left  he  holds  the  walled  city,  recog- 
nizable, owing  to  the  exaggerated  representation  of  the  Towers  of 
the  Garisenda  and  of  the  Asinelli.  His  mantle  is.  edged  with 
fur,  and  the  broad  trimming  on  his  glove  and  sleeve  illustrates 
the  lace  of  the  period,  namely  Reticclla,  which  must  have  just 
come  into  fashion  and  have  deeply  impressed  the  limner,  for  in 
the  earlier  and  later  Rotuli,  though  the  execution  of  the  painting 
is  more  artistic  and  the  designs  are  more  beautiful  and  floreate, 
we  do  not  find  the  lace  on  the  vestments  distinctly  reproduced. 
These  Rotuli  are  written  on  parchment  superbly  illuminated,  and 
form  an  almost  complete  series  from  1438  to  1799,  besides  a  few 
scattered  numbers  of  the  fourteenth  century.  They  have  never 
been  published,  although  they  constitute  an  exhaustive  and  un- 
equalled illustration  of  miniature  painting  in  Italy.  These  rolls 
contain  the  list  of  the  persons  (for  celebrated  women  as  well  as 
men  figure  among  the  lecturers)  who  were  called  by  the  Rectors, 
with  the  approbation  of  the  civic  authorities,  to  read  or  teach  on 
various  subjects,  which  with   the   hours  allotted  to  each  are  mi- 


84  OLD    AND    NEW    LACE    IN    ITALY. 

nutely  described  and  enumerated;  two  rolls  were  issued  every 
year,  one  for  the  "  Jurists  "  and  one  for  the  "  Artists," 

In  1347  people  still  called  gowns,  tunics,  and  several  for  women 
and  children  are  described  as  "laboratunt  ad  intayos,"  i.  e.,  worked 
with  open  or  carved  work  from  which  the  term  punto tagliato  orig- 
inated. Other  tunics  are  mentioned  as  trimmed  with  an  exagge- 
rated quantity  of  gold,  silver,  pearl  or  glass  buttons,  and  richly 
wrought  button-holes.  The  sleeves  were  the  most  elaborate  part  of 
these  costumes  and  reached  to  an  enormous  size,  vying  with  the 
fashion  of  to-day;  they  were  loaded  with  buttons  and  loops  innu- 
merable, and  profusely  trimmed  with  gold  and  beaded  "tressas,"  or 
tressed  work,  which  can  have  been  no  other  than  a  kind  of  gimp  or 
passement  as  its  name  indicates.  One  tunic  in  particular  is  described 
as  having  a  "low-cut"  body,"  the  first  I  find  noted,  and  the  usual 
rich  sleeves;  trains,  or  trailing  skirts,  are  also  mentioned  as  form- 
ing part  of  the  women's  costumes  of  this  period.  Until  the  end 
of  the  fourteenth  century  these  superfluous  buttons,  jeweled  bord- 
ers and  fur  linings  continued  to  be  the  fashion  despite  the 
constant  edicts  published  against  the  abuse  of  ornament  and  the 
extravagance  of  the  toilets,  such  as  the  one  of  1299  limiting  the 
price  of  borders  to  5  Lire  di  piccoli  per  ell ;  it  must  have  been  their 
costliness  and  uncomfortable  weight,  combined  with  the  fear  of 
prosecution  that  caused  gold, silver  and  clinquant  (plated  metal), 
passements,  laces  and  open-work  insertions  to  replace  them.  The 
demand  for  every  kind  of  trimming  at  this  period  was  so  great 
that  their  manufacturers  became  rich  and  powerful,  so  that  in 
1343  they  were  allowed  to  detach  themselves  from  the  associa- 
tion of  weavers  of  which,  until  then,  they  had  formed  part,  and 
organize  in  a  separate  guild  formed  of  the  producers  of  gold, 
silver,  linen  and  silk  thread,  cords,  lacings,  gimps,  fringes, 
"doppione,"  and  all  other  articles  used  as  or  in  the  production  of 
trimmings.  They  received  the  title  of  Master's  "Borderuw  sitbti- 
lum  de  filo  subtili"  which  denomination  must  have  been  chosen  as 
appropriate  to  lace-makers,  for  even  after  their  craft  became  a 
great  source  of  wealth  and  glory  to  Venice,  this  epithet,  denomi- 
nating the  guild  of  which  they  formed  part,  remained  unchanged. 

The  repeated  edicts  published  by  the  Patriarchal  and  Protec- 


OLD  AND  NEW  LACE  IN  ITALY.  j! 

tionist  governments,  forbidding  the  importation  and  limiting  the 
width  and  value  of  trimmings,  forced  the  mercers  to  invent  some 
cheaper  though  effective  edgings  with  which  to  supply  their  cus- 
tomers, and  they  naturally  resorted  to  fla.x,  aloes  and  silk  as  a 
first  material  of  comparatively  small  value  in  which  to  produce 
pretty  designs  in  drawn  work,  embroidered  net,  and  above  all, 
bobbin  lace,  which  being  easy  and  rapid  of  execution,  could  be 
sold  with  profit  for  a  low  price.  These  edgings,  "frizidor," 
"smerli"  or  "merli"  (so  called  from  the  Byzantine  terms  mcrniis, 
bobbin  and metmiriso  to  turn)  were  a  novelty  and  pleasing  to  the 
eye;  besides,  the  customers  found  that  they  furnished  the  desired 
trimmings  for  garments  with  the  added  charms  of  cheapness  and 
novelty,  and  so  accepted  them  eagerly  and  they  became  the  rage. 
But  as  usual,  once  the  fashion  was  established,  rivalry  in  elegance 
developed,  and  the  original  object  was  lost  sight  of;  merchants 
and  consumers  united  in  inciting  the  workwomen  to  fresh  inven- 
tions, more  perfect  designs  and  minute  details,  until  the  beautiful 
thread  points  of  the  golden  age  of  lace  became  far  more  costly 
and  valuable  than  the  jewelled  borders  which  wrought  such  havoc 
with  the  purses  of  the  fourteenth  century.  In  the  surrounding 
provinces  the  same  conditions  existed;  in  1 34 1  the  Patriarch  Ber- 
trando  of  Aquileja,  sovereign  of  the  Patria  (Friuli),  forbade  the 
use  of  gold  embroidery,  but  permitted  a  trimming  of  cord  or  lace 
worth  40  francs  per  ell,  a  sum  vastly  superior  in  value  to  the 
money  used  to-day,  a  price  not  to  (be  surpassed  under  pain  of 
fines  and  excommunication.  The  will  of  the  Countess  Pierina 
della  Torre  of  Udine,  dated  1396,  mentions  a  silk  kerchief  orna- 
mented with  "merli,"  worked  in  gold  leaves.  These  kerchiefs 
for  head  and  neck  furnished  a  seductive  field  for  the  exhibition 
of  fine  embroidery  and  lace.  In  a  Venetian  account  book,  under 
various  dates  from  1437  to  1439,  we  find  carefully  registered  a 
great  number  of  these  articles  of  feminine  adornment  which  are 
perpetuated  in  the  shawls,  neckerchiefs  and  Zeudade  or  veils  (see 
No.  228  cases  in  tambour  work  of  1546)  still  worn  by  the  Vene- 
tian patrician  ladies  on  solemn  occasions,  and  by  the  women  of 
the  people  daily.  The  kerchiefs  were  made  of  coarse  burato, 
linen,  silk,  muslin,  or  of  the   finest  silk   gauze  brought  from  the 


86  OLD  AND  NEW  LACE  IN  ITALY. 

Orient  and  unrivalled  by  the  products  of  modern  industry.  Those 
of  the  fifteenth  century  are  described  as  straforato,  literally  exces- 
sively pierced  with  work  in  wheel  shapes,  such  as  we  see  in 
No.  407  and  other  samples  on  the  screen  and  in  No.  134  cases, 
worked  in  "cartiglia,"  which  belongs  to  Countess  Valentinis  of 
Friuli. 

No.  126  cases  is  an  heirloom  in  the  historical  Colleoni  family. 
The  kerchief  dates  from  about  1600,  and  is  made  of  the  softest 
silk  gauze,  embroidered  in  very  fine  gold  and  silver  thread  with 
reversible  open  work  and  reliefs  around  the  four  sides.  It  was 
allotted  the  first  prize  assigned  to  this  kind  of  work  at  the  His- 
torical Exhibition  of  Textile  Arts,  held  in  Rome  in  the  spring  of 
1857. 

No.  155  cases  is  evidently  a  neckerchief,  being  embroidered 
only  on  two  sides  of  it,  made  of  a  sheer  gauze,  dating  from  the 
same  period  and  embroidered  very  daintily  and  artistically  with 
gold  thread  and  gold  foil,  interspersed  with  conventional  flowers 
and  fruits  exquisitely  shaded  in  colored  silks;  owing  to  the  daily 
use  for  which  such  objects  were  destined,  specimens  of  them  are 
very  rare.  The  above  mentioned  Venetian  account  book  also  de- 
scribes other  kerchiefs  worked  with  chavi  (openings)  in  colored 
silks;  this  is  a  term  used  at  that  period  for  a  simple  variety  of 
pnnto  tagliato  or  trapunto  (drawn  work). 

No.  93  screen  is  a  fine  specimen  of  this  stitch  having  a  de- 
sign consisting  of  chimerical  animals  left  in  the  linen  with  the; 
reticulated  open-work  ground  around  them  executed  in  red.  silk 
and  edged  with  a  narrow  fringe  worked  in  the  material. 

No.  335  screen  has  gold  introduced  in  the  ground  and  fringe. 

No.  337  screen  is  very  finely  executed  and  dates  from  the 
thirteenth  century;  it  is  a  most  interesting  sample  of  that  curious 
work  in  human  figures,  animals  and  flowers  left  in  linen,  with  an 
open-work  ground,  which  was  so  much  in  vogue  at  the  time  of 
the  troubadours. 

No.  351  screen  is  purely  gothic  in  design  and  is  a  sample  of 
the  open-work  which,  at  that  period,  was  imported  into  Italy 
from  the  Island  of  Rhodes. 


OLD    AND    NEW    LACE    IN    ITAI  Y. 

No.  353  screen  is  of  the  fifteenth  century  and  has  a  design  <>\ 
acorns  and  leaves  worked  in  red  silk. 

Nos.  74  and  76  cases.  These  numbers  represent  two  beautiful 
pieces  of  trapunto  worked  in  chavi  and  equally  finished  on  both 
sides.  They  belong  to  Mrs.  Arthur  Bronson.  No.  74  forms  the 
border  for  a  bed-spread  worked  in  a  Byzantine  design  of  mer- 
maids, stags  and  dragons  with  little  lions  and  small  birds,  inter- 
spersed among  the  principal  figures  to  fill  in  the  empty  spaces. 
These  creatures  are  left  in  the  linen  with  the  features  worked  by 
overcasting  the  design  neatly  in  yellow  silk,  and  the  outlines  arc- 
formed  in  the  same  way;  the  ground  is  embroidered  in  tiny  open- 
work squares  with  the  same  silk,  and  the  edge  consists  of  a  nar- 
row silk  fringe  of  the  same  color,  wrought  in  the  material  which 
is  characteristic  of  this  kind  of  work. 

No.  76  cases  is  made  in  very  fine  linen  and  must  have  served 
on  a  luxurious  gown  or  apron.  The  design  is  of  the  renaissance, 
gracefully  composed  of  large  interlaced  conventional  foliage  and 
scrolls;  around  this  runs  a  beautiful  simple  border;  the  overcast 
outline  and  shading  are  everywhere  composed  of  yellow  silk  and 
the  fine  reticulated  ground  is  made  in  pale  blue  silk,  the  whole  be- 
ing edged  with  a  narrow  appropriate  footing  which  has  been 
subsequently  added. 

No.  324  cases  is  a  pillow-case  in  fine  white  linen  worked  in 
trapunto  with  white  thread  with  an  all  over  gothic  design. 

No.  486  cases  is  an  altar  cloth  or  dresser  scarf  of  the  same 
kind  of  work  belonging  to  Signora  Costa  and  contains  birds, 
animals  and  letters  forming  initials,  monograms  and  words  which 
stand  out  from  the  cavato  ground  owing  to  the  superimposed  em- 
broidery and  raised-work. 

No.  492  cases  belongs  to  the  same  proprietor  and  is  unusually 
fine  in  material  and  work. 

No.  605  cases  comes  from  Ravenna;  it  is  a  table  cloth  in  white 
linen  worked  in  a  Byzantine  design  and  edged  with  antique 
pointed  pillow  lace  of  the  fourteenth  century. 

No.  604  cases  is  a  table  cover  of  the  same  material  and  work 
but  executed  at  a  later  date  as  is  seen  from  the  broad,  beautiful 
Genoese  pillow  lace,  composed  of  great  wheels  in  oriental  design. 


88  OLD  AXD  NEW  LACE  IN  ITALY. 

most  artistically  executed  which  is  sewed  on  either  end  and  in- 
dicates the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century. 

In  the  thirteenth  and  fourteenth  centuries  the  colored  embroid- 
eries called pwito  crocettaa  as  well  as  trapimto  were  very  much  appre- 
ciated, and  in  1781,  when  the  body  of  King  Ferdinand  the  Second, 
of  Sicily,  was  discovered  in  a  perfect  state  of  preservation  in  the 
royal  sepulchres  at  Palermo,  it  was  clothed  in  a  shirt  of  the  finest 
linen  with  the  collar  and  sleeves  worked  about  in  arabesques  and 
cufic  inscription.  This  garment  was  made  by  the  Saracens  and 
presented  by  their  ruler  to  King  Otto  IV  in  1210.  At  present 
this  species  of  work  is  again  the  fashion  and  as  examples  are  rare 
they  are  eagerly  sought  after  by  merchants  and  collectors  and 
command  high  prices.  The  "crocetta"  embroidery  is  executed  on 
fine  linen  with  bright  colored  silks  in  scacchetti,  or  square  stitch,  as 
well  as  in  back-chain-cross  and  other  stitches,  so  neatly  executed 
that  the  finish  of  the  wrong  side  is  equal  to  that  of  the  right;  the 
effect  is  generally  enhanced  by  fringes  wrought  with  the  needle 
into  the  edge  of  the  border  with  the  same  tinted  silks  that  com- 
pose the  design. 

Numbers  Jj  and  79  screen  are  samples  of  this  work;  the  latter 
is  particularly  fine  in  design  and  dates  from  the  fifteenth  century; 
its  chief  interest  lies  in  the  well  drawn  and  executed  human 
figures  and  animals  of  which  it  is  composed,  recalling  the  embroid- 
eries of  the  most  artistic  period  of  the  Roman  empire. 

No.  632,  634,  636,  638  cases.  These  numbers  represent  twenty- 
one  superb  examples  of  this  kind  of  Italian  embroider)-,  com- 
posing a  rare  collection  brought  together  during  years  of  re- 
search by  Dr.  Silvestrini,  of  Bologna,  who  has  decided  to  sell 
them.  Supplemented  by  the  trapunto  and. by  embroideries  from 
Achmin-panopolis  exhibited  on  the  screen,  these  numbers  afford 
rare  facilities  for  studying,  at  the  source,  the  changes  which  in 
the  fifteenth  century  gradually  stole  over  the  art  of  designing  for 
decorative  work,  and  the  successful  struggle  made  during  the 
renaissance  to  regain  the  lost  congruities  in  composition.  This 
kind  of  embroidery  continued  the  fashion  until  the  seventeenth 
century,  and  was  used  extensively  on  men's  and  women's  body 
linen  alike,  as  is  seen  in  portraits  of  this  period,  such  as  that   of 


OLD  AND  NEW  LACK  IN  ITALY.  89 

the  historical  Count  Hippolitodi  Porto  in  the  museum  at  Vicenza, 
and  as  is  recorded  in  all  the  court  inventories  and  chronicles  of 
Queen  Elizabeth  and  her  contemporaries. 

Another  Venetian  document,  dated  1439,  is  an  inventory  of 
the  wardrobe  belonging  to  Lorenzo  Dona  whilom,  Governor  of 
Friuli,  and  it  repeats  the  same  endless  enumeration  of  fine  cloth, 
silk,  velvet  and  satin  garments  adorned  with  fur,  goldlace,  beads, 
metal,  tinsel  and  silk  gimps  and  borders  under  the  names  of  tar- 
?iato,  frixo  d'oro  and  d'oro  Valenzane  (from  Valencia,  in  Spain), 
cJimnossa,  etc.,  while  other  documents  mention  oro  di  Cologna  (from 
that  city  on  the  Rhine),  liwibus  phtygium,  grammdta,  fimbria, 
trcssas  and  endless  other  terms  all  applied  to  the  multitudinous 
trimmings  of  that  clay. 

Other  cities  of  Italy  were  not  far  behind  Venice  in  the  gaudi- 
ness  of  attire,  for  the  constant  intercourse  with  that  great  com- 
mercial centre,  required  by  the  exigiencies  of  trade  furnished 
them  with  an  opportunity  for  studying  the  fashions.  Count 
Gaudini  has  spent  years  in  forming  the  superb  historical  collec- 
tion of  textiles  which  bears  his  name  in  the  museum  of  Modena, 
which  is  unsurpassed  in  this  branch  of  art  by  any  other  in  Europe; 
he  has  also  patiently  studied  the  masses  of  inedited  documents 
relative  to  the  ducal  family  of  Este  which  reigned  in  Ferrara  for 
so  many  centuries,  and  among  their  state  archives,  he  has  found 
mentioned  in  a  register  of  the  wardrobe,  dated  1475  (a>  c  25)  a 
frisco  in  oro  di  Cologna  (a  frieze  in  gold  of  Cologne)  and  in  that  of 
1476,  dated  June  5th,  (a  c  87)  an  order  given  for  a  felt  hat  "Alia 
Borgognona"  or  in  the  Burgundian  style,  trimmed  with  a  silver  and 
silk  gimp  made  with  bobbins,  "besides  this  (a  c  96)  in  the  same 
document  is  noted  a  seat  made  in  velvet  for  the  great  hall,"  with 
the  canopy  trimmed  at  the  sides  with  a  frixetto  (frill)  in  gold  and 
silver  made  in  little  squares  with  bobbins;  "finally  in  number  112, 
of  the  same  collection  are  inscribed  the  orders  for  refurnishing 
an  apartment  in  the  palace,  which  had  been  given  by  the  Duch- 
ess Eleonora,  wife  of  Duke  Hercules  I,  who  desired  these  rooms 
to  be  embellished  in  honor  of  the  expected  visit  to  Ferrara  of  her 
sister, Beatrice  of  Aragon,  on  her  journey  to  marry  King  Mathias 
Corvinus   of   Hungary      In  this  manuscript  one  of  the  rooms  is 


90  OLD    AND    NEW    LACE    IN    ITALY. 

described  as  adorned  with  "  a  frieze  of  gold  made  with   bobbins." 

In  Florence  in  the  fifteenth  century  the  luxury  in  clothes  was 
quite  equal  to  that  of  Venice,  and  Savonarola,  in  the  stirring  ser- 
mons which  he  preached  from  1484  to  1491  against  the  follies  and 
extravagances  of  the  time,  frequently  reproached  the  nuns, 
especially  those  of  the  convent  of  the  Murate,  with  devoting 
their  time  to  the  vain  fabrication  of  costly  gold  laces  with  which 
to  adorn  the  houses  and  persons  of  the  rich,  instead  of  conse- 
crating themselves  to  fasting,  prayer  and  the  glory  of  God  in  the 
embellishment  of  His  holy  temples. 

No.  290  cases  consists  of  a  large  quantity  of  this  lace  in  per- 
fect preservation,  exhibited  by  Countess  Agostini  Venerosa  della 
Seta,  of  Tuscany.  It  comprises  the  trimming  for  a  table  cover 
and  contains  the  widest  and  best  designs  in  gold  lace  I  have 
ever  seen.  It  comes  from  the  fingers  of  those  very  women  who 
provoked  the  great  preacher's  vituperation,  and  its  glowing  splen- 
dor corroborates  his  words. 

After  gazing  on  these  jewels  of  textile  art  the  eye  turns  with 
contempt  from  the  seven  samples  (382)  which  are  placed  beside 
it,  as  also  from  Nos.  83  and  300,  etc.,  on  the  screen  which  illus- 
strate  the  gold,  silver  and  clinquant  laces  made  in  other  parts  of 
Italy. 

No.  85  screen  is  also  Florentine  bobbin  lace  of  the  same 
period  as  the  gold  lace.  Its  ground  is  made  of  unbleached 
thread,  worked  in  the  same  way  as  the  gold  lace,  but  instead  of  the 
close  designs  shown  in  this  it  has  two  real  cartisane  (strips  of 
parchment  rolled  with  silk)  interlaced  with  the  ground  in  a  con- 
ventional pattern  to  form  the  design.  This  kind  of  lace  *vvas 
called  guipure,  from  guiper  (in  old  French  to  roll),  and  its  name 
after  became  synonymous  with  all  lace  made  in  a  cord-like  de- 
sign. 

No.  89  screen  ds  an  example  of  an  entirely  different  kind  of 
work,  namely,  of  the  first  kind  of  net  used  in  Italy  as  lace  on  gar- 
ments. It  is  made  of  a  very  fine  linen  or  silk  mesh  stiffened  with 
wax  and  then  embroidered  in  silk  thread,  and  was  the  origin  of 
lacis.  It  was  in  use  during  the  fourteenth  and  early  part  of  the 
fifteenth  century,  as  is  indicated  by  the  design  and  proved  by  an 


OLD    AND    NEW    LACE    IN    ITALY.  QI 

account  book  formerly  belonging  to  the  Cathedral  of  Ferrara. 
and  now  existing  in  the  municipal  archives  of  that  city.  This 
document  contains  an  entry  made  in  1469  of  a  bill  presented  by 
a  certain  Battista,  wife  of  Nicolo  Andrea,  of  Ferrara,  for  "  repair- 
ing the  very  badly  worn  and  damaged  gramito  (border)  of  four- 
teen surplices  for  the  canons  of  the  chapter,  with  detailed  specifi- 
cations of  the  work,  together  with  the  prices  of  thread  and  "the 
candles  used  for  waxing  it,"  etc. 

But  the  most  complete  and  authentic  list  of  the  laces  made 
in  the  fifteenth  century  is  found  in  the  lengthy  document,  of 
which  only  the  part  referring  particularly  to  lace  is  given  here. 
It  consists  in  a  descriptive  catalogue  of  the  personal  effects  and 
furniture  inherited  by,  and  divided  between,  the  noble  sisters 
Angela  and  Ippolita  Sforza,  Visconti  of  Milan,  and  is  dated  Sep- 
tember 12,  1493.  To  those  who  have  read  that  lace  was  invented 
in  Flanders  or  in  Germany  in  the  latter  part  of  the  sixteenth 
century,  and  copied  and  developed  in  Italy  during  the  seven- 
teenth century,  the  following  lines  prove  how  frequently  asser- 
tions are  made  without  proper  research,  and  that  as  early  as  the 
fifteenth  century,  side  by  side  with  the  pillow  lace  made  by  inter- 
lacing single  threads  such  as  was  found  in  the  graves  of  Achmin- 
panopolis,  and  which  received  the  distinctive  denomination  of 
bone-lace  in  Italy  and  England,  existed  the  more  elaborate  and 
newer  lace  made  with  bobbins  twirled  in  Paris  and  called,  as  to- 
day, "fuxi"  and  " fuselli"  and  all  the  varieties  of  needle  lace 
specified  in  the  pattern  books  published  in  the  following  century, 
as,  for  instance,  pitnto  tagliato,  punto  tirato,  rete  a  maglia  quadra, 
rcticclla,  punto  in  aria,  etc.  Although,  as  will  be  seen  from  the 
Italian  terms  retained  beside  the  translations  in  this  fragment, 
the  abominable  orthography  of  the  epoch,  often  strangely  tra- 
vestied the  original  name — 

.  "  One  mantle  of  black  satin  trimmed  around  with  gold  tarnato 
(lace)." 

"  One  veil  in  spun  gold." 

"  Four  small  veils  in  silk;  ten  little  veils  in  Neapolitan  style." 

"  One  linen  sheet  of  five  breadths  worked  in  point." 

"  One  piece  of  silver  tarnato  (lace)  made  in  stars." 


K)2  OLD    AND    NEW    LACE    IN    ITALY. 

"  One  sheet  of  four  breadths  worked   in  radexela  (net  lace)." 

"  Four  pieces  of  (net  point)  radexela  to  put  on  a  mosquito 
net." 

"  One  sheet  worked  with  large  insertions." 

"  One  gold  veil  made  in  the  Neapolitan  style,  with  a  gold 
cimosa  (edging)." 

"One  gold  veil  made  with  an  applied  cimosa  (edging)  of 
black  silk." 

"  One  stomacher  made  in  gold  of  grupi  (knotted  work)." 

"One  tarnato  (edging)  of  gold  and  silk  made  in  ossi  (bone 
lace)." 

"  One  stomacher  of  gold  brocade  with  retini  (net  work)." 

"  One  stomacher  of  red  satin  trimmed  with  gold  work, 
a  gugia." 

"One  sheet  in  raw  silk  of  six  breadths  worked  in  radexela 
(  net  point)." 

"One  small  bundle  of  various  kinds  of  embroideries." 

"  Five  pairs  of  sheets,  one  worked  in  radexela  (net  point)." 

"  One  sheet  of  four  breadths  worked  in  radexela." 

'.'One  painted  box  with  certain  fittings  of  embroidery,  made 
on  veiling." 

"  Four  pieces  of  radexela  for  a  mosquito- net." 

"  One  knotted  embroidery,  on  which  were  the  pearls  of  my 
Lady  Bianca." 

"  One  broad  radexela  for  a  sheet." 

"  Six  new  pieces  of  tiny  raxela  (net  lace)." 

"Two  tarnate  of  gold." 

"  One  band  worked  a poncto  de  doii  fuxi;  (literally  in  point  of 
two  bobbins  in  contra-distinction  to  the  bone  lace  named 
above)." 

"  Half  of  a  bundle  containing  certain  designs  for  the  women 
o  work." 

"  One  sheet  of  bo)nbagc  with  certain  fine  workings;  one  sheet 
ditto,  worked  in  radicelle." 

That  lace  made  with  "  pairs"  of  bobbins  was  a  novelty  is  indi- 
cated by  its  being  thus  especially  described  in  order  to  dis- 
tinguish it  from  the  older  and  simpler  bone  lace,  and  we  have  an 


OLD    ANT)    NEW    LACE    IN    ITALY.  93 

illustration  of  it  in  the  unpublished,  authentic  portrait  in  oil  of 
Christopher  Columbus,  belonging  to  Cavaliere  de  Ferrari,  of 
Genoa,  of  which  we  give  a  sketch,  and  which  is  the  only  portrait 
of  the  explorer  in  existence  in  which  he  is  represented  as  wear- 
ing lace. 

This  quality  of  lace  was  made  in  Genoa  and  Spain,  and  is 
therefore  most  appropriately  perpetuated  on  the  collar  of  the 
man  whose  greatness  brought  lustre,  wealth  and  power  to  the 
nation  of  his  adoption,  and  added  a  glorious  name  to  the  long 
register  of  brilliant  sons  possessed  by  the  classic  land  which 
gave  [him  birth.  But  another  historical  character  whom  we 
must  ever  honor  in  speaking  of  Columbus  has  also  left  an  impress 
on  this  lace.  It  will  be  remembered  that  when  Queen  Isabella  of 
Castile  joined  her  husband  in  the  Spanish  crusade  against  the 
Moors  of  Granada  she  made  a  solemn  vow  not  to  change  her 
shift  until  that  pagan  city  had  submitted  to  the  Cross.  .  Many 
weeks  passed  and  that  historical  garment  assumed  a  very  doubt- 
ful unbleached  hue  ere  Granada  fell.  All  Christendom  at  that 
moment  had  its  eyes  fixed  on  Spain  in  admiration  of  its  enterprise 
and  victories,  and  so  in  compliment  to  the  Queen  the  new  color 
was  adopted  for  laces  and  frills  all  over  Europe  to  such  an  extent 
that  yellow  starches  were  invented,  and  under  the  title  of  "  Cou- 
leur  Isabel"  this  shade  of  buff  is  still  designated.  This  tint  was 
especially  given  to  the  bobbin  laces  of  Spain  and  Genoa,  called 
"  Gothic"  whether  made  in  silk  or  thread,  of  which,  owing  to  its 
great  fineness  and  antiquity,  examples  in  a  good  state  of  preser- 
vation are  excessively  rare.  The  two  pieces  628,  630  cases  in 
buff  silk  belonging  to  Dr.  Silvestrini  are  wonderfully  fine  and  deli- 
cate in  quality  and  design,  and  come  from  Spain,  probably 
worked  there  by  the  Jews  before  they  were  expelled  under  the 
Inquisition.  But  Queen  Isabella,  beside  the  political  cares  and 
grave  state  questions  which  she  never  shirked,  was  a  clever  and 
devoted  apostle  of  the  needle  and  especially  excelled  in  drawn 
work  and  lace-making,  in  which  she  also  personally  trained  her 
daughters,  so  that  the  young  princesses  working  with  noble 
maidens  under  her  intelligent  supervision  in  the  vast  hall,  conse- 
crated to  the  use  of  the  ladies  of  the  Court,  acquired  her  dexterity 


94  OLD  AND  NEW  LACE  IN  ITALY. 

and  when  they  married  into  England,  Portugal  and  Burgundy 
carried  with  them  the  passion  for  this  innocent  and  graceful  art 
which  they  had  learned  to  practice  at  their  mother's  knee. 

Nos.  440,  442  cases  are  two  pieces  exquisite  in  design  and  exe- 
cution of  the  same  gothic  lace,  but  this  time  made  in  Genoa. 
They  have  an  especial  historical  interest  for  Americans,  as  they 
were  brought  to  Perugia  by  a  member  of  the  Meniconi  Brac- 
ceschi  family  of  which  the  distinquished  and  fearless  condottiere 
of  the  middle  ages,  Bracciaforte  da  Montone  was  a  member.  The 
nobleman  who  first  owned  this  lace  was  sent  by  the  Pope  as 
Ambassador  to  the  .French  court  and  frequently  passed  through 
Genoa;  and  as  the  friends  and  family  of  Columbus  were  poor  and 
industrious,  it  is  possible  that  the  fingers  which  introduced  these 
linen  and  silken  threads  may  have  clasped  the  hand  of  the  great 
explorer.  Such  thoughts  cause  us  to  touch  with  reverence  these 
waifs  .of  a  bygone  age  and  realize  the  truth  in  the  words  of 
Fambri,  the  great  prophet  of  the  revival  of  lace-making  in  Italy,  in 
which  he  describes  the  gentle  maids  and  matrons  of  the  Renais- 
sance mouldered  to  dust  beside  the  heaps  of  ruins  which  once 
constituted  the  strongly  fortified  stone  castles  they  inhabited, 
while  the  filmy  work  of  their  frail  fingers  lives  on  through  cen- 
turies ever  freshly  adorning  generation  after  generation  of  the 
human  race  in  every  part  of  the  world  to  which  culture  has 
penetrated. 

In  the  Milanese  document  of  1493  the  most  frequently  recur- 
ring quality  of  lace  mentioned  is  reticella  (net  lace  or  Greek 
point)  and  the  process  followed  in  its  manufacture  is  described 
in  our  introduction.  From  a  simple  form  of  open  work  embroid- 
ery it  rapidly  developed  into  a  perfect  point  lace;  indistinguish- 
able from  "  Punto  in  aria,"  it  was  a  universal  favorite  all  through 
the  sixteenth  century  side  by  side  with  point  and  bobbin  lace, 
the  coarser  qualities  of  reticella  being  especially  adapted  to  body 
and  house  linen  and  Burato,  for  the  working  of  which  a  complete 
pattern  book  was  composed,  is  but  a  modification  of  it;  but  long 
before  the  publication  of  books  of  designs  destined  to  serve  as 
patterns  for  lace  makers  every  household  and  convent  had  its 
sampler    more    or    less   complete,    from    which    the    stitches  and 


old  and   new   LACE   IN    ITALY,  95 

patterns  daily  reproduced  were  copied  by  the  women  and  young 
girls. 

Nos.  97,  99,  101  screens  are  some  of  the  more  antique  samples 
of  this  work,  and  No.  598  cases,  which  is  of  the  sixteenth  century, 
is  an  exceptionally  large  and  beautiful  sampler,  and  forms  a  com- 
plete illustration  of  the  stitches  used  in  this  kind  of  lace.  Punto 
Tagliato  lies  between  Trapunto  and  Reticella,  for  it  is  like  the 
latter  excepting  that  a  part  of  the  linen  ground  is  left  visible  as 
in  Punto  Tagliato,  whereas  cardiglia  touches  the  other  extreme 
and  though  appearing  like  reticella,  is  made  entirely  without 
linen. 

We  have  enumerable  examples  of  all  these  kinds  of  work, 
each  one  more  beautiful  than  the  other,  and  all  alike  interesting, 
for  the  Italian  women  of  that  period  were  quick  to  see  its  beau- 
ties, its  possibilities  of  producing  endless  variety  in  effect  and 
its  advantages,  as  it  did  not  alter  at  all  in  washing;  so  that  in  the 
super-refined  extravagance  of  the  Renaissance  it  was  used  not 
only  to  adorn  sheets,  pillow  cases,  towels  and  table  linen,  bed- 
spreads, curtains  and  canopies  with  both  insertions  and  borders, 
but  the  passion  for  it  went  to  such  lengths  as  to  cause  the  bright 
colored  walls  of  the  summer  apartments  to  be  entirely  covered 
with  it,  which  a  chronicler  of  the  period  says  produced  a  dainty, 
cool  and  charming  effect. 

The  Sforza  document  speaks  of  sheets  of  four  and  five 
breadths;  this  was  because  the  old  looms  did  not  admit  of  weav- 
ing linen  wide  enough  to  cover  a  bed  with  one  piece,  and  as 
seams  are  unsightly,  pretty  insertions  were  used  to  unite  the 
widths;  the  tradition  of  this  remains  in  Italy  and  in  No.  656 
cases  is  exhibited  a  homespun  sheet  such  as  is  still  in  daily  use 
among  the  Friuli  peasants  and  illustrates  these  observations;  the 
simple  fact  that  I  was  forced  to  lend  the  humble  possessor  a 
sheet  to  take  its  place  and  complete  her  household  linen  during 
its  voyage  to  America  shows  that  such  work  is  not  there  consid- 
ered luxurious  but  simply  neat. 

No.  484  cases,  is  the  heading  of  a  sheet  from  an  old  castle  in 
the  neighborhood  and  other  pieces  exhibited  in  this  group 
have  served  for  the    same  purpose.     Of    course    to    match  these 


96  OLD  AND  NEW  LACE  IN  ITALY. 

sheets,  pillow  cases  with  reticella  or  bobbin  lace  borders  and 
open  work  hems  were  necessary  and  universally  in  use. 

No.  142  cases  belongs  to  one  of  our  peasants,  and  Nos. 
130,  138,  478,  685  are  all  pillow-cases  in  the  same  kind  of  work 
executed  at  different  epochs  with  more  or  less  finest,  according 
to  the  ability  and  wealth  of  the  housewife  and  shaped  to  fit  for 
centuries  the  heads  of  different  ages  of  humanity  from  the  cradle 
to  the  grave. 

No.  286,  288  cases  form  the  cover  and  curtains  for  a  dressing- 
table,  composed  entirely  of  beautifully  worked  reticella  parallelo- 
grams, which  adorned  a  Tuscan  bridal  sheet  of  the  fifteenth  cen- 
tury and  are  edged  with  fine  antique  Genosese  pillow  lace. 

Nos.  334,  448,  602,  608,  610,  612  cases  are  several  beauti- 
fully executed  table-cloths,  dresser  covers  and  towels,  all  form- 
ing interesting  examples  of  reticella  and  punto  tagliato ;  each  is 
different  from  all  the  others  and  some  are  adorned  with  pillow 
lace  edges  and  fascinatingly  complicated  with  tassels  at  the  four 
corners. 

Nos.  456,  462,  502,  504  cases  are  also  examples  of  Reticella 
and  Punto  tagliato,  which  have  served  on  household  and  church 
linen  and  are  now  exhibited  by  the  patronesses. 

No.  468  cases  is  particularly  worthy  of  attention  on  account 
of  its  fineness  of  quality,  perfection  of  execution  and  the  curious 
little  doges  caps  and  vases  introduced  in  the  design. 

No.  601  cases  is  also  interesting  as  showing  an  entirely  con- 
trary treatment  of  the  material  and  constitutes  Punto  tagliato 
Reale,  the  designs  being  cut  out  and  diversified  with  graceful 
stitches,  the  ground  being  left  in  plain  linen,  a  rare  quality  of 
work  which  can  be  perfectly  reproduced  at  the  school  in  Burano 
where  the  clever  workwomen  have  recovered  the  secret  of  its 
fabrication. 

Nos.  89,  109,  171,  283,  369,  389,  391,  399,  401,  403,  405.  407,  409. 
411,  413,  417,  419  screens  consists  in  eighteen  samples  of  Punto 
Tagliato  and  Reticella  exhibited  on  the  screen,  and  as  each 
one  is  furnished  with  the  date  of  its  origin  and  the  name  of  the 
place  where  it  was  manufactured,  no  further  comment  with  re- 
gard to  them  is  necessary.     No.   89  is   of  purely  gothic    design, 


oi.D    AND    NEW    LACE    IN    ITALY.  97 

and  is  the  oldest  piece  oi  drawn  work  on  this  list.  No.  397  is  a 
fine  example  of  the  variety  of  lace  called  cardiglia^  which,  in  ap- 
pearance resembles  Reticella,  but  is  worked  as  in  Venetian  Point. 
These  varieties  of  work  are  so  beautiful,  so  characteristic  and  50 
little  known  out  of  Italy  that  they  have  been  chosen  to  form  the 
subject  of  the  illustration  representing  the  fashion  of  using  lace 
from  1500  to  1600.  This  sketch  reproduces  an  anonymous  por- 
trait, preserved  in  the  Pinacotek  of  Bologna  of  a  delicious,  jolly 
baby  of  the  olden  times,  literally  smothered  in  laces  lying  wide 
awake  in  a  monumental  crib  furnished  with  pillow,  spread,  can- 
opy and  curtains  of  this  work,  with  even  the  corner  columns 
swathed  in  bands  of  it;  this  lace  introduced  into  strips  of  linen 
was  also  used  alone  or  mixed  with  pillow  lace  for  swaddling  the 
babies  of  the  Italian  aristocracy  as  well  as  those  of  wealthy  He- 
brews. 

The  latter,  however,  in  accordance  with  the  prescriptions  of 
the  Talmud,  were  wrapped  in  bands  diversified  by  quotations 
from  the  law,  embroidered  between  the  stripes  of  lace. 

No.  320  cases  is  one  of  these,  worked  in  Burato  and  worn  to  rags 
by  several  generations  of  Jewish  babies,  while  No.  1 1 1  on  the 
screen,  and  No.  314,  318,  320  in  the  cases  have  undergone  the 
same  process  in  the  service  of  little  Christians. 

Nos.  554,  556  cases  are  two  unusually  long  and  richly  worked 
bands  of  Punto  tagliato  and  Reticella  from  Bologna,  in  a  state  of 
perfect  preservation.  They  are  edged  with  delicate,  pointed  Gen- 
oese lace,  and  cause  us  to  regret  that  more  of  this  artistic  com- 
bination of  needle  and  point  lace  has  not  survived  the  ravages  of 
time.  These  two  pieces  exactly  correspond  in  length,  width  and 
design  with  those  on  the  canopy  reproduced  in  the  above  men- 
tioned sketch  and  may  have  served  on  this  very  crib  or  on  that 
of  some  other  little  Bolognese  aristocrat  of  the  same  epoch. 

The  list  of  laces  in  use  during  the  fifteenth  century,  remains 
to  be  completed.  We  have  reviewed  the  pretty  ladies  of  the 
court,  but  have  left  unmentioned  the  queen  and  greatest  beauty 
of  them  all;  she  enters  last  and  all  eyes  turn  to  her  as  she  ascends 
the  throne  of  needle-work,  from  which  no  change  of  fashion  has 

ever  been  able  to  banish  her. 

7 


-98  OLD    AND    NEW    LACE    IN    ITALY. 

We  stand  in  the  presence  of  the  earliest  Real  Venetian  Point, 
called  Pun  to  in  Aria.  Since  first  invented  this  lace  has  ever  en- 
hanced woman's  charms  and  men  have  been  so  attracted  by  its 
clinging  grace  that  they  have  carried  it  upon  their  breasts  and 
sleeves  in  court  and  camp,  and  sometimes  dyed  it  crimson  with 
their  life  blood,  while  the  inordinate  love  of  it  has  also  played 
sad  havoc  with  family  coffers,  so  that  estates  have  been  mort- 
gaged and  whole  families  reduced  to  penury  in  order  to  satisfy 
the  craving  for  its  possession.  Many  laws  have  therefore  been 
promulgated  against  it,  but  in  vain.  From  its  origin  it  was  very 
expensive  and  the  Venetian  Republic  tried  to  eliminate  a  fresh 
excuse  for  extravagance  by  suppressing  it  at  the  outset,  and  so  in 
1476  the  Senate  decreed  that  no  Punto  in  Aria  whatever,  either 
executed  in  flax  or  in  silver  or  gold  thread  should  be  used  on  the 
garments  or  on  the  curtains  and  bed  linen  in  the  city  or  provin- 
ces; but  the  women  were  accustomed  to  disobey  the  laws  and  it 
was  necessary  to  rebel  against  the  measures  inspired  by  a  desire 
to  control  their  expenditure  ,even  though  they  knew  it  were  for 
their  own  good.  They  had  tasted  the  sweets  of  victory  in  their 
great  rebellion  against  the  Patriarch  of  Venice,  Lorenzo  Guist- 
iniani,  who  had,  in  1437,  dared  to  forbid,  under  pain  of  fines  and 
excommunication  the  use  of  costly  jewelry  and  of  every  kind  of 
superfluous  adornments.  But  the  women  of  that  period,  like  the 
artisan  of  to-day,  bravely  "went  out  on  strike,"  and  refused  to 
attend  the  churches  until  they  had  appealed  to  the  pope.  Their 
ambassadress  must  have  possessed  not  only  rich  and  becoming 
garments,  but  also  an  eloquent  tongue  and  a  persuasive  smile, 
since  she  induced  the  pontiff  to  side  with  the  women  and  to- 
order  the  patriarch  to  cancel  his  injunction. 

And  when  we  observe  No.  605,  belonging  to  Signorina  Angio- 
lini,  of  Bologna,  which  is  a  framed  example  of  this  most  antique 
Venetian  point,  which  dates  from  about  1460,  and  resembles  in  its 
design  some  pure  spirit  flower,  we  can  understand  the  woman 
excited  over  these  exquisite  blossoms  of  their  inventive  needles 
refusing  to  have  the  rare  exotics  destroyed  by  ruthless  laws, 
and  battling  fearlessly  to  preserve  the  creatures  of  their  mind 
and    hand    for    their    own    particular    adornment;    they    had    at 


OLD    AND    NEW    LACK    IN    ITALY.  99 

once  grasped  the  possibilities  of  effect^which  needle  lace  pos- 
sessed and  had  realized  that  it  added  a  needed  delicacy  to  their 
superb  costumes  through  the  twining  of  its  graceful  tendrils 
in  and  out  around  the  hems  of  their  veils  and  coifs,  and  that  its 
soft  white  blossoms  brightened  by  contrast  the  shell-like  tinting 
of  their  hands  and  necks  and  the  rosy  freshness  of  their  cheeks. 


100  OLD  AND  NEW  LACE  IN  ITALY. 


PART  IV. 


The  Golded  Age  of  Lace.    From  Fifteen  hundred 
to  the  Trench  Empire. 

The  love  of  lace  developed  into  a  passion  during  the  sixteenth 
century,  when  all  that  was  beautiful,  formed  crowds  of  faithful 
worshippers.  The  first  artistic  talent  of  Europe  was  inspired  to 
compose  designs  for  the  complicated  hand  weaving  with  needle 
and  bobbins,  designs  for  which  were  published  in  book  form  and 
papers  through  numerous  editions.  Tradition  has  it,  that  no  less 
a  painter  than  the  great  Titian  in  person  not  only  counselled  his 
nephew  Veccelio  in  the  composition  of  his  pattern  book,  but 
himself  sometimes  laid  aside  the  brush  and  deigned  to  draw 
designs  for  a  favored  few.  Reprints  of  the  most  celebrated  of 
these  pattern  books  published  during  the  sixteenth  century  are 
to  be  found  in  the  collection  of  books  exhibited  with  the  laces 
and  the  dedication  of  one  of  the  rarest  extant  addressed  to  the 
Duchess  of  Ferrara.  Princess  Margherita  d'Este,  in  1592,  is  re- 
produced at  the  beginning  of  this  volume,  and  showed  how 
they  were  offered  in  homage  to  the  highest  ladies  of  the  land, 
who  gladly  accepted  the  dedication  considering  it  a  great  honor 
and  compliment  to  the  industry  and  skill  of  their  households  to 
be  thus  remembered.  For  in  those  days  the  daughters  of  many 
noble  families  were  intrusted  to  their  care  for  instruction  in  the 
arts  becoming  highborn  womanhood,  and  each  great  House  formed 
a  kind  of  training  school  in  literature  and  manners,  which  custom 
was  replaced  by  the  convents  of  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth 
centuries  and  the  select  boarding  schools  of  to-day. 

In  the  large  hall  or  sala  which  runs  the  whole  depth  of  the 
second  floor  of  each  great  Venetian  palace,  an  apartment  which 
was  formerly  devoted  exclusively  to  the  women  and  their  occu- 
pations,   the   mistress   of    the  house  caused  the  young  girls  to 


OLD  AND  NEW  LACK  IN  ITALY.  101 

execute  the  wondrous  works  ofskilland  patience,  copied  from  the 
pattern  books,  in  which  were  often  introduced  tor  the  easier  exe- 
cution of  the  design  samples  of  the  different  lace  stitches  as  in 
the  unique  example  No.  614  cases,  by  Veccelio,  which  belonged  for 
generations  to  the  pious  lathes  of  a  picturesque  old  convent  at  Peru- 
gia, which  has  long  been  suppressed.  There  was  a  healthy  spirit 
of  emulation  among  the  maidens  of  a  household,  each  girl  putting 
her  whole  soul  and  ability  into  the  work  allotted  to  her,  for  not 
only  was  she  striving  for  a  word  of  encomium  more -flattering 
than  that  earned  by  one  or  other  of  her  companions,  but  all  the 
women  of  one  palace  united  in  straining  every  nerve  to  have  their 
work  surpass  that  of  some  other  great  household,  equally  cele- 
brated for  its  points.  This  rivalry  among  the  women  went  to 
such  exaggerated  lengths  as  to  give  rise  to  insults  and  bitter  quar- 
rels among  the  men. 

Princesses  and  queens  complied  with  the  industrious  usage  of 
the  times  and  Catherine  de  Medici  introduced  the  custom  of  lace 
work  into  the  French  court  in  the  sixteenth  century,  just  as  the 
constant  intercourse  between  the  noble  families  of  Italy  and  Spain 
during  the  fifteenth  century  had  assisted  the  development  and 
speed  of  varied  lace-making  in  those  countries  nearly  a  hun- 
dred years  earlier.  This  remarkable  Italian  woman,  who  had  in- 
herited the  talent  of  her  father  Lorenzo  de  Medici,  while  directing 
the  affairs  of  state,  found  time  each  day  to  spend  several  hours 
with  the  young  princess  and  ladies  of  the  court  in  the  sunny 
work-room  of  the  Louvre,  looking  out  upon  the  river  Seine. 
Here  her  daughter  Margaret,  the  pretty,  clever,  giddy  wife  of 
Henry  of  Navarre,  spent  the  most  innocent  hours  of  her  life,  em- 
broidering the  squares  of  reticella  and  net,  which  are  called  after 
her  pseudonym  of  Reine  Margot;  see  Nos.  310  cases  and  415 
screen,  of  this  work;  copies  in  the  form  of  tea  cloths  are  exhibited 
by  the  school  of  Brazza  in  the  modern  section. 

Here  also  Queen  Catherine's  daughter-in-law,  beautiful  Mary 
Stuart  acquired  an  inextinguishable  love  of  Trench  sunshine, 
gaiety  and  laughter,  while  deftly  plying  the  needle,  and  when  in 
her  imprisonment  she  worked  the  veil  (still  religiously  preserved), 
which   framed  her  pale  features  on   the  scaffold,  how  sadly  must 


102  OLD    AND    NEW    LACE    IN    ITALY. 

the  sweet  memories  of  her  happy  youth  and  gay  companions  in 
France  have  entangled  themselves  among  its  threads. 

The  mother  of  Henry  IV  of  France  and  of  Navarre,  Jeanne 
d'Albret,  at  her  father's  great  castle  in  Gascony,  had  also  learned 
lessons  of  application  to  the  needle,  and  when  she  married 
Antoine  de  Bourbon  in  1556  she  gathered  about  her  the  noble 
ladies  of  Navarre,  and  in  the  following  years  of  strife  whiled 
away  the  many  anxious  hours  caused  by  the  persecution  of  her 
coreligionists  in  making,  with  the  assistance  of  her  companions, 
yards  upon  yards  of  superb  embroidered  net,  part  of  which  con- 
stitutes the  bed  cover,  curtain  and  dressing  valance,  all  edged 
with  dainty  gothic  pillow  lace,  exhibited  under  numbers  168  and 
170  cases.  Net  lace,  or  Lacis,  being  easy  to  work  and  not  requir- 
ing great  application  has  always  been  a  favorite  fancy  work 
among  high  born  lace  makers,  as  is  seen  from  the  royal  account 
books  still  preserved  in  the  archives  of  England  and  of  the  con- 
tinent. No  150  cases  is  a  beautiful  piece  of  the  earliest 
variety  of  laces  which  were  made  on  the  bias;  it  comes  from 
Genoa,  and  is  the  property  of  Countess  Gambaro.  In  it  the  net 
is  edged  with  very  fine  Genoese  lace  worked  in  deep  points.  No. 
662  cases  is  still  older — it  is  a  pillow  case  composed  of  squares  of 
bias  laces  illustrative  of  the  stories  in  holy  scripture  which  treat 
of  the  virtues  and  the  vices.  It  has  illegible  lettering,  forming  a 
border  to  each  square,  and  the  human  figures  represented  are 
clothed  in  the  costume  of  the  Renaissance. 

No.  94  cases  is  a  towel  or  credence-cover,  with  either  end 
formed  by  a  very  deep  border  of  net.  embroidered  with  unicorns 
drinking  at  a  fountain. 

No.  623  cases  is  also  the  end  of  a  dresser  cover,  and  repeats 
the  same  design  of  unicorns,  although  in  this  piece  of  work  they 
are  represented  as  supporting  the  arms  of  the  proprietor. 

In  the  sixteenth  century  the  unicorns  was  a  favorite  design 
with  which  to  ornament  all  objects  used  in  connection  with  food, 
such  as  platters,  cups,  table  linen,  etc.,  because  of  the  prevalence 
of  the  crime  of  poisoning  at  that  period  and  the  popular  belief  that 
the  horn  of  the  unicorn  destroyed  all  venom;  so  that,  though  this 
fabulous  animal  never  existed,  a  regular  traffic  was  carried  on   in 


OLD  AND  NEW  LACE  IN  ITALY.  IO3 

manufactured  horns  by  the  apothecaries,  and  the  Neapolitan  use 
of  small  carved  horns  or  hands,  with  fingers  pointed   to  conjure 
the   evil   eye,    is    a   survival    of   the  superstition.     This    foolish 
superstition  originated  in   the    legend  of  a  poisonous  lake  which 
killed  all  animals  that  drank  of  its  waters  or  birds  that  flew  across 
it  until  a  unicorn,  passing  that  way,  stopped  to  quench   his  thirst 
and  the  touch  of  his  horn  on  the  waters   sweetened   and   purified 
them.     Verses   allusive  to   this   were   frequently   inscribed   upon 
cups,  and  there  are  many   frescoes,  tapestries   and    lace    pattern 
books  of  the  sixteenth  century  in  the  designs   of   which  the   uni- 
corn is  introduced.     No.   94   cases   is   copied   from   one  of  these 
and  executed  with  great  attention   to  the   harmonious  combina- 
tion of   light  and   shade    and    to    correct    drawing.     The    above 
pieces,  like  all  net  lace  of  the  same  variety  from   Italy,  are  made 
in  a  straight   band  and  edged   with  a  campane  of  bobbin    lace. 
The  Germans,  however,  finished  their  oldest   net  laces   with    net 
teeth,  edged  with  an  overcasting  stitch,  as  is  seen  in  No.  625  cases, 
which   is  embroidered   in    the    imperial  eagles,  with    buttonhole 
stitch  around  the  edge,  because  bobbin   lace   was   not  manufact- 
ured   by    this   nation   until   long   after   net   lace  had   become    an 
object  of  general  use.     Little   tassels   were   sometimes  added  in 
both  countries  to  the  turretted  borders,  as  in  No.  416  cases,  which 
is  a  piece  of  Italian  pointed  net  of  the  same  period,  and  in   No. 
224  cases,  which  is  a  border  formed    of   a    very   fine  quality  of 
Isabelle  colored  net  most   artistically  embroidered   in   interlaced 
vines,  among  which  cupids  and  dogs  are    portrayed   as   playing; 
it  is  edged  with  a  fine  campane  and   the  graceful  composition  is 
in  the  perfect,  harmonious  style  of  the  Italian  art  in  the  sixteenth 
century.     This  exquisite  piece  of  lace  belongs  to  the   Santa  Silia 
family,  which  came  to  Naples  from  Spain  with  Charles  III. 

No.  609  cases  is  of  the  same  period  made  in  silk  and  very 
effective.  Owing  to  its  brilliant  coloring  it  is  very  coarse,  and 
was  evidently  made  for  use  on  furniture  and  hangings  such  as  we 
read  of  with  minute  details  in  the  books  of  travel,  and  memoirs 
especially  in  those  descriptive  of  Venetian  luxury. 

Another  variety  of  net  lace  is  called  Modena.     It  is  not  gener- 


104  OLD    AND*  NEW    LACE    IN    ITALY. 

ally  embroidered,  but  the  pattern  consists  in  knotting  the  meshes 
together  in  different  shapes. 

No.  607  cases  is  an  interesting  example  of  this  work,  as  in  it 
squares  of  embroidered  net  and  modena  are  alternated,  while  the 
border  is  entirely  composed  of  modena.  This  variety  lace  has 
always  been  identified  with  Tuscany,  and  the  peasants  of  to-day 
in  the  mountains  around  Florence  use  bed  spreads  and  mosquito 
nets  made  of  it. 

No.  600  cases  is  a  curious  cover  composed  of  squares  of  old 
Burato  work  alternated  with  modena,  the  whole  being  executed 
in  cream  and  buff-colored  thread  of  aloes.  This  was  found  in  a 
sepulchre  at  Ferrara  belonging  to  the  marquises  of  Caliagnini, 
and  is  of  the  fifteenth  century,  though  it  is  mentioned  here  be- 
cause placed  with  the  other  work  in  net.  Many  other  examples 
of  lace  have  been  found  in  sepulchres,  and  at  one  time  a  regular 
commerce  was  carried  on  between  the  natives  of  Corfu,  Cyprus 
and  the  strangers  on  the  steamers,  which  stopped  at  the  ports  of 
the  islands,  by  means  of  the  lace  of  rare  beauty  and  great  antiq- 
uity found  in  quantities  in  the  sepulchres  which  they  rifled. 
Many  rich  old  Venetian  families  had  settlements  of  wealth  and 
power  in  both  these  islands,  and  though  the  places  have  returned 
to  barbarity  they  still  retain  their  absolute  suzerainty  over  cer- 
tain parts  of  them. 

No.  107  screen  is  a  curious  needle  lace  of  which  we  ignore  the 
name.  It  was  made  for  a  short  time  during  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury, and  must  have  been  invented  in  Spain  as  its  stitch  resembles 
more  closely  that  composing  the  Hispanomoresque  head-dress 
than  any  other  lace  we  have  been  able  to  find;  it  looks  something 
like  knitting  or  a  lace  so  fine  as  to  be  out  of  the  possibility  of 
■execution.  It  is,  however,  neither  one  nor  the  other,  and  is 
worked  with  a  needle  without  a  foundation  composed  of  a  tex- 
tile, as  is  Venetian  point,  but  also  differs  greatly  from  this,  as  it 
is  made  without  the  use  of  threads  sewed  down  and  then  worked 
over  to  form  the  outline  of  the  design,  but  is  composed  simply 
of  counted  stitches  made  farther  apart  or  close  as  the  design 
requires.  No.  596  cases  is  a  small  table  cover,  the  border  of  which 
consists  of  this  lace  executed  in  a   design  of  alternate   peacocks, 


OLD  AND  NEW  LACK  IN  ITALY.  IO5 

emblems  of  jealous  vigilance,  and  doves,  the  emblems  ol  gentle 
faith. 

Another  lace  which  never  had  great  success  in  Italy,  but  was 
very  much  admired  in  Spain  and  also  in  France,  was  the  heavy 
silk  guipure  of  the  sixteenth  century.  This  was  made  either  in 
bobbin  lace  of  silk  alone  in  various  colors,  or  mixed  with  metal 
or  tinsel,  and  was  also  sometimes  made  in  part  or  entirely  with 
the  needle.  Its  characteristic  consists  in  a  coarse  cord  replacing 
the  narrow  strip  of  vellum  which  was  originally  used,  but  on 
account  of  its  brittleness  was  soon  abandoned  for  the  softer 
material;  these  were  wound  smoothly  in  silk  or  whatever  other 
thread  was  to  be  used  and  edged  with  tiny  loops;  this  gimp  was 
then  fastened  down  around  the  pieces  of  silk  brocade  or  tinsel  as 
is  seen  in  Nos.  340  and  342  cases,  or  else  close  lace  stitches  were 
made  forming  flowers  such  as  No.  75  screen,  and  at  other  times 
it  was  caused  to  curve  about,  following  the  design  without  being 
filled  in  at  all,  forming  flowers,  stems  and  arabesques,  held 
together  by  loops.  These  Spanish  guipures  were  sewed  as 
decorative  borders  on  heavy  materials,  such  as  velvets,  cloths  and 
brocades,  but  in  Italy  the  people  preferred  to  use  embroidery 
where  the  lighter  varieties  of  gold  and  metal  lace  and  the  deli- 
cate silk  polychrome  lace  edgings  were  not  appropriate;  their 
fondness  for  color  and  appreciation  of  its  values  was  greatly  de- 
veloped, as  is  evinced  by  the  beautiful  piece  of  the  latter  with  a 
conventional  design  executed  in  pillow  lace  (number  80  cases) 
which  is  unrivalled  by  the  most  scientific  combinations  of  the 
present  day.  Bu  rato  and  Reticella  were  also  executed  at  this 
period  in  colored  silks  mixed  with  thread,  and  added  diversity  of 
effect  to  the  house  linen. 

No.  84  cases  is  a  table  cover  of  burato  worked  in  colors;  it  is 
varied  with  net  and  pillow  lace  and  edged  with  fringed  pillow 
lace. 

No.  328  cases  is  a  bandof  the  same  work  made  into  a  bell-pull. 

No.  82  cases  is  a  broad  band  of  cartiglia  made  of  white  thread 
and  yellow  silk  in  a  Moorish  design  of  discs;  it  comes  from  Spain 
and  is  very  rich  in  effect. 

In  No.  332  cases  a  similar  effect  is  produced  1>\    a  fancy   woik 


106  OLD    AND    NEW    LACE    IN    ITALY. 

which  has  of  late  become  the  fashion  in  Italy  and  consists  in 
sewing  remnants  of  antique,  white  pillow  lace  guipure  upon  can- 
vas and  filling  in  all  the  space  between  the  designs  with  Sicilian 
stitch  executed  in  colored  silks. 

As  already  alluded  to,  the  greatest  period  of  intercourse 
between  Spain  and  Italy  began  with  the  marriage  of  Ferdinand 
and  Isabella  and  continued  until  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury, when  Spanish  families  had  obtained  dominion  over  the 
greater  part  of  Italy  and  the  Italian  nuns  imported  into  Spanish 
convents,  and  the  Spanish  girls  educated  in  Italian  convents 
exchanged  with  their  new  companions  the  knowledge  of  the  arts 
of  the  needle  as  practiced  in  their  respective  countries.  With 
France  continual  intercourse  had  already  begun  before  the  peace 
of  Bologna  in  1530,  for  in  the  early  part  of  the  sixteenth  century 
Italy,  full  of  beauty  and  art,  became  the  coveted  prey  of  all 
Europe  and  on  its  historic  soil  were  fought  out  the  battles  for 
supremacy  between  France  and  Spain  which  in  those  days  meant 
also  Austria.  The  nobles  and  princes  who  commanded  the  invad- 
ing armies  on  both  sides  carried  with  them  the  artistic  spoils  of 
its  civilization,  and  all  the  laces  and  embroideries  executed  until 
the  seventeenth  century  are  copies  of  modifications  of  Italian 
designs. 

Florence,  Genoa,  and  above  all  Venice,  as  the  most  flourishing 
cities  of  the  artistic  peninsula,  originated  the  fashions  till  the 
brilliant  and  extravagant  court  of  Louis  XIV  definitely  estab- 
lished the  sway  of  Paris  as  the  absolute  dictatress  of  all  which 
regarded  dress.  Notwithstanding  the  opening  of  the  universities 
to  women,  which  occurred  in  the  fifteenth  century,  when  a  mixed 
college  was  established  at~  Mantua  under  the  direction  of  Vittoria 
da  Feltre  the  Italian  women  did  not  develop  into  the  kind  of 
literary  blue-stockings,  neglect  the  feminine  arts  and  spurn  house- 
wifely occupations.  At  Venice  as  early  as  1414  Giovanna  Dan- 
dolo,  wife  of  Doge  Pasqual  Malipiero,  whose  intelligence  enjoyed 
such  wide-spread  celebrity  that  the  first  book  printed  in  Venice 
was  dedicated  to  her,  founded  and  protected  large  schools  in 
which  the  productions  of  the  bobbin  and  the  needle  reached 
such  perfection  that  they   assured   the   superiority  of  Venetian 


OLD    AND    NEW    LACE    IN    ITALY.  10J 

laces  and  obtained  for  them  their  great  reputation  at  all  the  courts 
of  Europe.  The  schools  and  ateliers  opened  by  the  benevolent 
woman  after  her  death  continued  to  spread  the  art  among  all 
classes  of  Venetians.  The  needle  laces  produced  at  this  period 
in  Venice  as  well  as  in  Spain  are  generally  known  under  the 
name  of  Spanish  point,  to  distinguish  them  from  the  more 
elaborate  designs  executed  in  the  same  lace  at  a  later  period. 

No.  659  cases  is  very  antique  and  is  edged  with  deep  Spanish 
points;  it  represents  the  transition  from  reticella  to  punto  in  .Aria, 
being  destined  for  church  uses  and  illustrating  in  fine  stitches  the 
Pasqual  Lamb,  emblems  of  the  Passion,  the  gates  of  heaven, 
angels,  birds,  etc.  (This  has  been  reproduced  at  the  school  of 
Burano). 

Nos.  515,  512  wall  are  photographs  of  some  curious  pieces  of 
this  quality  of  lace  consisting  of  elaborate  and  complicated  figures, 
composing  entire  biblical  or  mythological  stories. 

No.  308  cases  is  also  very  old  and  represents  tiny  figures  of 
women;  it  comes  from  a  convent  at  Udine. 

No.  594  cases  is  a  band  of  punto  in  aria,  originally  the  property 
of  an  old  family  of  Mantua. 

No.  606  cases  is  a  table  cover  composed  of  deep  artistic 
reticella  inserted  in  fine  linen  and  edged  with  bobbin  lace. 

No.  283  screen  is  a  piece  of  the  same  lace,  placed  in  the 
screen  beside  No.  285,  which  is  a  modern  imitation  of  it  made  in 
Switzerland  by  machinery,  which  has  been  very  much  the  fashion 
for  dress  trimming  during  the  past  two  years,  but  can  be  com- 
pared in  no  way  artistical  with  the  original. 

Nos.  458,  460  cases  are  beautiful  examples  of  cartigHa  of  the 
sixteenth  century. 

No.  456  cases  is  punto  in  aria  of  the  same  epoch,  as  are  also 
Nos.  248  and  312.  The  latter  consisting  of  an  artistically  de- 
signed deep  lace  composed  of  different  sized  conventional 
thistles.     Executed  in  Spain. 

No.  616  cases  is  another  band  of  Punto  di  Spagna. 

No.  126  cases  is  of  interest  as  illustrating  a  special  variety  o\ 
Venetian  guipure  made  during  the  sixteenth  century  in  linen 
thread;  it  is  executed  partly  in  needle  and  partly    in  bobbin  hue. 


108  OLD  AND  NEW  LACE  IN  ITATY. 

Xo.  'ii6  screen  is  a  second  example  of  the  above,  executed 
according  to  a  different  design. 

An  example  of  the  embroidery  most  admired  in  Venice 
during  the  sixteenth  century,  is  furnished  by  the  tablecover,  No. 
114  cases,  composed  of  deep  red  antique  satin  and  velvet  richly 
embroidered  in  gold  tendrils,  intertwined  with  scattered  flowers 
of  delicately  tinted  silks,  worked  with  the  exquisitely  natural 
shading  and  excessive  fineness  of  execution,  distinguished  by  the 
title  of  needle  painting. 

In  1557  another  Duchess  Lelia  Dandolo,  wife  of  the  Doge 
Lorenzo  Priuli  who,  like  the  gifted  Dogaressa  Malipiero  occupied 
herself  in  benefiting  humanity,  merited  by  her  noble  character 
and  charitable  deeds,  the  unusual  exaltation  of  being  personally 
crowned,  which  was  not  accorded  to  the  wives  of  all  the  Doges, 
but  only  to  those  who  had  individually  distinguished  themselves 
in  such  manner  as  to  merit  this  the  highest  honor  which  the 
republic  could  confer.  The  costume  the  Duchess  wore  on  this 
occasion  is  described  as  having  been  copied  from  that  of  one  of 
her  predecessors.  The  headdress  consisted  of  a  cap  of  gold 
bordered  with  deep  Venetian  point,  from  which  hung  to  the 
ground  a  white  veil  edged  with  point  lace,  and  the  same  chroni- 
cler relates  that  the  great  ladies  and  high  officials'  wives  who 
attended  the  ceremony  wore  the  immense  collars  of  point  lace 
spangled  with  gold,  jewels  and  pearls  which  are  seen  in  the 
portraits  of  the  Medici  family.  These  were  supported  by  fine 
metal  boxes  called  verghetti,  which  were  manufactured  in  Venice 
in  such  abundance  on  account  of  the  great  demand  for  Venetian 
lace  caps,  collars  and  ruffs  that  the  inhabitants  of  a  whole  quarter 
of  the  town  were  occupied  in  their  production  of  them,  made  of 
every  size  and  quality,  so  that  the  whole  quarter  came  to  be 
called  dei  Verghetti  after  them,  a  title  which  it  still  bears — others 
of  the  ladies  at  this  imposing  ceremony  wore  lace  caps  and  lace 
bavari  or  bibs,  for  which  so  many  designs  were  published  during 
the  following  fifty  years;  others  wore  long  veils  edged  with  deep 
bands  of  punto  tagliato  afiorame  (the  superb  Venetian  raised  point 
literally  translated  sculptured  point),  and  altogether  the  sight  was 
of  stupendous    and    unrivalled   gorgeousness  as   all  the  cloud  of 


OLD  AND  NEW  LACE  IN  ITALY.  IOQ 

lovely  women  preceded,  followed  and  Hanked  by  the  high  Venetian 
officials,  standard  bearers,  nobles  and  pages,  swept  in  grand  and 
solemn  procession  under  the  procuratia,  around  the  square  before 
St.  Mark's,  and  up  the  Giant's  stair  case  of  the  Ducal  palace.  No. 
244  cases  is  an  example  of  the  last  named  lace  in  the  pure  de- 
sign which  first  characterized  it.  N0.166  cases  shows  the  splendor 
to  which  it  developed  in  the  seventeenth  century;  this  rich  and 
rare  cape  belonging  to  the  Countess  Telfner  was  evidently 
destined  to  adorn  the  red  mantle  of  one  of  the  Doge's  or  one  of 
the  ambassadors  sent  out  by  the  senate  with  special  orders  to 
dress  in  superb  style,  so  as  to  prove  to  all  who  saw  them  how 
rich  and  grand  was  the  proud  Republic  they  represented. 

No.  297  screen  is  a  cuff  made  in  Venetian punto  in  aria,  repre- 
senting animals  (hares);  it  has  the  raised  edge  in  use  at  the 
middle  of  the  sixteenth  century,  as  has  also  Xo.  611  cases 
belonging  to  Mrs.  Cuthbert  Slocomb,  which  is  finished  in  deep 
Spanish  points  and  composed  of  a  running  design  with  which  the 
dogs  of  the  Carrarese,  peacocks,  scorpions  and  eagles  are  inter- 
mingled. This  is  an  example  of  the  Carnival  lace  especially  manu- 
factured for  grand  occasions,  such  as  marriages,  births,  etc., 
which  always  contained  the  arms  or  emblems  of  the  great  families 
in  whose  honor  the  celebration  was  to  take  place.  To  this 
flounce  belong  16  oval  pats  such  as  were  used  in  the  slashed 
sleeves,  of  the  sixteenth  century;  these  together  form  a  worthy 
relic  of  old  Venetian  costume  winch  receives  an  added  interest 
from  the  piece  of  fine  bobbin  lace,  No.  174  cases,  exhibited  by 
Countess  Passafava  dei  Carrarese,  for  this  contains  also  the  dogs 
belonging  to  the  great  family  of  Carrara  and  the  quartering  ol 
peacocks  used  by  them  at  that  epoch,  but  this  time  combined 
with  lions  and  foxes — so  that  the  two  pieces  record  different 
marriages  in  the  same  house,  one  in  the  sixteenth  and  the  other 
in  the  seventeenth  century. 

No.  155  screen  is  another  interesting  example  of  emblematic 
lace,  and  consists  of  deep  Genoese  points  which  must  have  formed 
the  edge  of  some  ruff  or  standing  collar,  and  represent  the  crowned 
double-headed  eagle  of  Austria,  combined  with  a  shield  contain- 
ing the  white  cross  of  the  House  of  Savoy.     The  development  of 


I  20  OLD    AND    NEW    LACE    IN    ITALY. 

Italian  bobbin  lace,  also  made  rapid  progress  during  the  sixteenth 
century.  First  of  all  among  them  continued  to  rank  the  delicate 
conventional  Gothic  laces,  which  were  modified  into  ever  varied 
and  new  patterns,  always  retaining  the  same  quaint  effect,  but  fol- 
lowing, however,  two  systems  of  design,  the  one  being  round  and 
wheel-like,  such  as  the  Maltese  and  Moorish  laces,  see  No.  620 
cases,  the  other  pointed  like  pine  trees  or  the  oriental  date  palm- 
leaf  pattern  which  frequently  composed  the  entire  design.  Of 
these  latter  laces  No.  570  cases  is  a  beautiful  creation,  and  No. 
282  cases  is  very  gracefully  composed  in  the  form  of  a  collar, 
edged  with  needle  lace  reticella.  No.  574  cases  belongs  to  the 
same  epoch,  as  also  Nos.  161,  185,  103,  and  many  other  examples 
on  the  screen. 

No.  119  screen  is  the  end  of  a  towel  with  palm  leaf  insertion 
and  a  turretted  border;  both  Nos.  121  and  135,  also  on  the  screen, 
have  a  graceful  running  design  executed  in  the  same  lace. 

No.  140  cases  is  a  pillow  case  with  a  beautiful  insertion  of  this 
lace  forming  conventional  flowers  alternated  with  inserted  repeti- 
tions of  the  same  design,  which  begin  on  the  opposite  side  and  fits 
into  the  space  left  between  the  triangular  group  of  flowers;  it  is 
edged  with  a  narrow  insertion  which  repeats  the  same  flowers  and 
leaves  in  a  simpler  combination. 

No.  165  and  several  other  samples  on  the  screen,  which  are  all 
marked  with  the  place  of  origin  and  date  of  manufacture,  belong 
to  this  variety  of  lace,  but  it  would  be  tedious  to  enumerate 
them  here. 

The  Italian  needle  laces  known  as  Punto  Tagliato,  Reticella 
and  Cardiglia,  were  imitated  with  bobbins  producing  an  almost 
identical  effect,  and  wearing  equally  well  on  linen,  whereas  the 
fatigue  and  cost  of  production  with  the  bobbins  was  vastly  in- 
ferior to  that  with  the  needles. 

No.  466  cases  is  an  example  of  this  lace,  as  are  Nos.  129,  371, 
135,  381,  and  many  other  pieces  exhibited  on  the  screen  or  intro- 
duced into  pieces  of  household  linen  mixed  with  needle  or  other 
bobbin  laces. 

No.  231  screen  is  a  simple  insertion  made  in  enormous  quan- 
tities and  used  in  sheets  and  pillow-cases   and  coarse  underwear. 


OLD  AND  NEW  LACE  IN  ITALY.  I  I  I 

It  was  infinitely  varied  in  design,  and  rude  though  effective  bor- 
ders were  produced  to  match  it,  of  which  Nos.  145,  133,  137,  169, 
175  on  the  screen  and  man)'  others,  such  as  Xos.  64S  and  650  in 
the  cases  are  examples.  These  were  made  in  every  part  of  Italy, 
frdm  the  Alps  to  the  extremest  point  of  Sicily.  In  Genoa  the 
designs  of  this  quality  of  lace,  as  well  as  of  the  others  already 
mentioned,  were  influenced  by  Spain  (see  the  guipure  No.  613,  and 
the  table-cover  No.  640);  but  the  lace-makers  of  this  city  also 
learned  an  entirely  different  stitch  from  Malta,  as  is  seen  in  the 
examples  No.  167,  the  insertion  Nos.  201,  319  and  385,  the  last 
having  in  particular  a  decidedly  Moorish  effect. 

From  the  Moors  the  Genoese  and  Venetian  mariners  of  the 
sixteenth  century  also  acquired  another  kind  of  artistic  trimming 
to  which  they  gave  the  name  of  punto  a  groppo  (knotted  point), 
now  called  by  its  Moorish  name  of  macrame.  This  complicated 
fringe,  composed  of  five  knotted  threads,  is  equal  to  a  lace  in 
design  and  execution,  and  when  treated  with  long  threads  wound 
about  bobbins  it  becomes  one.  Signora  Enrichetta  Ruggi,  of 
Padua,  has  composed  an  entire  group  (number  200  cases)  illus- 
trating the  evolution  of  this  kind  of  work  from  the  simplest  knot- 
ted fringe  to  the  most  complicated  lace,  and  Countess  Avogadio 
of  the  same  city  contributes  a  rich  and  interesting  album  (194 
cases)  of  antique  lace  samples,  containing  an  authentic  bit  of  the 
original  "groppo"  which  is  very  rare.  This  lace  is  made  exten- 
sively around  Genoa  and  is  used  to  edge  house  and  table  linen,  as 
are  also  the  fringed  coarser  guipures  and  torchon  laces,  copied 
from  those  of  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries  already 
mentioned  (see  Nos.  139,  193,  373)  on  the  screen,  which  are  orig- 
inal samples  of  these  varieties  of  lace.  In  Venice  and  in  Sicily 
and  Naples,  as  in  the  countries  and  islands  of  the  eastern  part  of 
the  Mediterranean,  the  bobbin  laces  were  affected  by  the  trade  with 
the  Orient  and  developed  designs  resembling  those  for  embroid- 
ering or  braiding.  The  following  are  a  few  samples  of  these: 
325  and  other  samples  on  the  screen,  as  well  as  490  and  128  in  the 
cases,  show  the  same  character  as  Greek  lace,  which  always  has 
one  or  two  coarse  threads  passing  along  the  ribbon  design  which 
forms  the  pattern  of  the  lace  and  is  identical  with  modern  Russian 


112  OLD  AND  NEW  LACE  IN  ITALY. 

and  Hungarian  guipure;  1 86  cases  is  the  same  kind  of  design  but 
different  in  treatment,  having  a  mesh  ground  and  thick  cord  fol- 
lowing the  Arabesque  designs  of  the  lace  in  the  middle  of  which, 
at  frequent  intervals,  large  holes  are  left  to  vary  the  monotony 
and  reduce  the  heaviness  of  effect,  and  here  is  found  the  wide  and 
original  idea  which  developed  into  the  beautifully  fine  Neapolitan 
and  Milanese  points.  No. 321  screen  is  a  sample  of  white  and  No. 323 
screen  of  yellow  guipures  which,  as  well  as  No.  150,  are  from  Corfu 
and  are  characteristic  of  the  work  produced  on  that  island.  No. 
328,  however,  is  composed  of  the  renowned  fibre  of  aloes,  in  this 
instance  used  unbleached,  although  in  many  of  the  finer  laces  it 
differs  only  from  white  thread  by  its  more  silvery  effect.  The 
laces  from  Cypress  and  the  southern  islands  of  the  Mediterranean, 
as  well  as  those  from  Madeira,  although  oriental  in  design  (see  Nos. 
268,  508,  316  cases),  resemble  the  cloister  laces  of  the  eighteenth 
century  which,  though  fine  in  appearance,  were  neither  slow  nor 
difficult  of  execution  and  so  were  taught  by  the  nuns  wherever 
they  founded  schools  (see  No.  106  and  others  in  the  cases).  These 
oriental  and  Greek  designs  rapidly  developed  in  the  artistic 
atmosphere  of  the  Renaissance  into  very  beautiful  and  costly 
laces;  the  work-women  adapting  their  advantages  to  the  laces 
they  were  producing  whilst  they  entirely  suppressed  their  defects, 
and  they,  therefore,  soon  developed  into  the  highly  prized  points 
of  Genoa,  Naples  and  Milan,  and  into  the  beautiful  guipures  of 
Rugusa  and  Venice,  which  have  always  retained  the  original 
oriental  character  in  their  flowers  and  arabesques.  No.  222  cases 
is  a  superb  example  of  the  ability  of  the  women  of  Venice  who 
dedicated  themselves  to  the  manufacture  of  this  kind  of  lace.  It 
is  a  very  deep  flounce,  composed  entirely  of  tendrils,  leaves  and 
flowers  following  each  other  in  varied  combinations  of  perfect 
naturalness  and  grace,  showing  the  subtlest  art  in  the  composition; 
all  these  are  formed  by  the  convolutions  of  a  ribbon  of  close 
stitch,  bordered  with  a  fine  cord,  the  tendrils  being  held  together 
by  purled  bars  while  the  hearts  of  the  flowers  are  composed  of 
fancy  complicated  stitches,  also  made  with  the  bobbins.  This 
flounce  belonged  to  patrician  family,  Buoncompagni  of  Bologna, 
and  is  said  to  have  been   made  on   purpose   for  the   brilliant  and 


OLD    AND    NEW     I   \<  I      IN   ITALY.  11^ 

talented   Pope    Gregory  XIII   when   he    was   still   Cardinal    Ugo 
Buoncompagni. 

The  Italian  artist  whose  pictures  most  faithfully  reproduced  the 
embroideries,  laces  and  splendor  of  costumes  which  distinguished 
this  century  was  Lavinia  Fontana,  the  daughter  of  a  painter  of  Bolo- 
gna. Sliewas  born  in  1552,  and  was  gre  ttly  protected  by  this  same 
house  of  Buoncompagni  from  which  she  received  frequent  orders  and 
the  powerful  recommendations  and  patronage  of  this  great  pope, 
and  she  died  while  working  at  Rome,  whither  he  had  called  her. 
She  not  only  enjoyeda  deservedly  great  reputation  in  her  own  coun- 
try (some  of  her  paintings  being  so  exquisite  in  drawing  and  ex- 
ecution that  they  have  been  attributed  to  Guido  Reni  ),  but  her 
name  was  known  far  and  wide,  and  the  king  of  Spain  ordered 
one  of  her  pictures  which  occupies  a  prominent  place  in  the  Es- 
curial  palace.  Other  examples  of  the  Venetian  guipures  she  loved 
to  portray,  are  Nos.  470  to  482  and  442  cases,  a  beautiful  piece  of  this 
lace  belonging  to  a  lady  of  Genoa.  Xcs.  365,  359  and  some  other 
pieces  of  lace  on  the  screen  are  interesting,  as  they  are  of  a  dif- 
ferent variety  of  bobbin  guipure,  which  is  purely  Italian  in  style 
and  execution,  and  which  is  especially  characteristic,  as  it  has 
never  been  copied  in  other  countries.  Even  in  Italy  it  was  pro- 
duced and  only  about  Venice,  Ragusa  and  on  the  shores  of  the 
Riviera  by  the  fisher  folk,  who  destined  it  for  the  service  of  the 
church.  We  here  designate  it  by  the  name  of  Rapallo,  to  which 
village,  with  the  neighboring  Santa  Margherita,  is  attributed  the 
earliest  manufacture  of  this  kind  of  lace,  in  order  to  distinguish  it 
from  the  numerous  other  varieties  of  Genoese  guipure.  In  the  regis- 
ter of  the  Parish  church  at  Santa  Margherita  exists  an  old 
parchment  design  for  working  this  lace  (which  has  been  repro- 
duced in  the  school  at  Brazza);  it  must  be  of  very  antique  origin, 
for  on  the  back  of  this  design  is  noted  a  list  of  old  fishing  nets  and 
laces  presented  as  a  votive  offering  to  the  church  where  it  was 
found  in  1592  by  the  fishermen,  as  a  testimonial  of  their  gratitude  for 
a  successful  season  of  coral  fishing.  In  No.  307  and  among  the 
samples,  No.  652  cases  exhibited  by  the  nuns  of  the  Ursuline  Con- 
vent in  Cividale  in  Friuli,  who  guard  the  only  Longobard  temple 
still  existing  and  in  268 — we  have  samples  of  this  lace  of  which  a 

8 


114  OLD    AND    NEW    LACE    IN    ITALY. 

beautiful  piece  is  in  the  possession  of  the  chapter  of  St.  Daniels, 
an  old  fortified  burrough  in  the  same  province.  The  finest  speci- 
mens are  only  to  be  found  in  the  churches,  but  the  government 
does  not  allow  the  religious  bodies  to  send  art  treasures  of  any 
kind  out  of  the  country  and  we  were  too  pressed  for  time  to  have 
these  laces  photographed.  No  more  perfect  example  could  be 
desired,  however,  of  this  rarely  beautiful  lace,  than  No.  146 
cases,  which,  when  it  is  made  so  very  fine,  is  called  vermicelli. 
Here  the  design  is  formed  entirely  of  narrow  cords  or  tapes  no 
wider  than  drawing  strips  woven  in  the  most  difficult  of  all 
bobbin  stitches  to  work  continuously  and  with  regularity,  as  is 
done  here.  This  lace  is  placed  at  the  foot  and  around  the  neck 
and  sleeves  and  on  the  shoulders  of  a  surplice  where  it  is  mixed 
with  reticelles;  the  seams  of  this  priestly  garment  are  held  to- 
gether by  curious  buttons  and  loops,  and  it  possesses  a  twofold 
historical  interest,  in  the  first  place,  because  it  belongs  to  the  son 
of  Angelica  Bafic,  the  clever,  noble-hearted  woman  of  the  peo- 
ple, who,  in  the  second  quarter  of  this  century,  devoted  her 
entire  zeal  and  intelligence  to  the  reorganization  of  lace  in- 
dustry in  Liguria,  and  whose  name  has  become  among  the  lace 
makers  a  synonym  for  thrift  and  intelligence;  secondly  because 
this  antique  lace  and  the  Indian  muslin,  of  which  the  vestment 
is  composed,  was  presented  to  the  great  Carthusian  monastery  in 
Pavia  by  the  Emperor  Napoleon  I.  Who  knows  in  what  part  of 
Italy  that  great  collector  and  re-distributor  of  antiquities  had 
picked  it  up? 

In  the  wave  washed  villages  where  these  laces  were  made,  on 
the  shores  of  the  Adriatic,  thrift  and  the  fruits  of  activity  were 
everywhere  visible,  or  on  the  Gulf  of  Genoa,  while  the  men  were 
engaged  in  fishing,  or  on  long  voyages  in  the  great  Venetian  and 
Genoese  merchant  vessels,  their  wives  and  daughters,  who  stayed 
at  home,  worked  diligently  with  the  bobbins  or  the  needle,  pro- 
ducing well  paid  laces,  the  price  of  which  added  to  the  family 
comfort  or  formed  a  sum  destined  for  the  daughter  with  which  to 
start  in  housekeeping  when  the  lover  returned  from  the  perils  of 
the  deep  to  claim  the  young  girl  whom  he  had  courted  during  the 
previous  winter. 


OLD    AND    NEW    LACE    IN    ITALY.  I  1 5 

The  arsenals  and  foundries  in  Spezia,  and  about  Genoa  com- 
bined with  the  work  on  the  great  fortresses  and  ports  have  modi- 
fied the  customs  in  Liguria,  but  this  simple  story  is  repeated  year 
by  year  at  Burano  and  around  Venice,  thanks  to  the  thrift  of  the 
female  population  and  to  the  prosperity  produced  by  the  earn- 
ings and  educational  influences  of  the  lace  schools.  The  different 
romances  in  the  lives  of  the  lace-makers  have  become  with  years 
crystalized  into  a  pretty  tale  about  the  invention  of  the  fairy-like 
"Rose  point"  "e  se  non  e  vero  e  ven  trovato,"and  worthy  to  be 
repeated  here  to  enliven  the  dry  facts  we  recount. 

It  appears  that  at  the  epoch  when  every  second  woman  in 
Venice,  rich  or  poor,  was  occupied  in  making  lace,  a  sailor-lover 
brought  home  to  his  sweetheart  some  strange  and  lovely  growths 
which  he  had  been  inspired  to  pick  up  in  the  depths  of  the  sea 
while  diving  to  gather  coral,  thinking  to  give  her  pleasure.  On 
his  return  home  he  offered  her  these  "frutti  di  mare"  (sea  fruits) 
as  the  Italians  appropriately  call  them,  as  a  simple  memento  of 
his  summer  toils  and  a  proof  of  his  faithful  memory  of  her. 
Shortly  afterward  he  started  on  .another  and  this  time  much 
longer  and  more  perilous  voyage,  undertaken  that  he  might 
obtain  more  rapidly  the  honestly  earned  gold  which  was  neces- 
sary to  begin  in  comfort  their  young  wedded  life,  and  in  parting  he 
sought  to  console  her  with  pictures  of  his  glad  return,  and  jest- 
ingly warned  her  not  to  put  [out  the  fire  of  her  bright  eyes  with 
too  much  useless  weeping,  but  to  use  it  rather  to  guide  her  needle 
in  making  such  a  beautiful  ^wedding  veil  as  would  cause  him  to 
find  as  smart  a  bride  as  any  lord's  [awaiting  him  in  Venice.  Her 
loving  heart  treasured  up  this  jesting  suggestion,  and  she  deter- 
mined to  follow  it  by  picturing"in  soft  lace  each  simple  gift  of  his 
so  that  on  her  bridal  day  they  would  illustrate  what  had  occupied 
her  thoughts  during  the  many  weary  months  of  separation.  With 
true  artistic  talent  and  infinite 'patience  she  wove  in  finest  thread 
the  reproductions  of  the  tiny  shells  and  of  the  frills  and  fluted 
sea-weeds,  the  delicate  sea-grasses,  mixed  with  fairy-like  repro- 
ductions of  star-fish,  sea  anemones  and  urchins,  and  all  the  mul- 
titude of  marine  gems,  the  whole  being  held  together  by  delicate 
tendrils  copied  also  from  growths  of  the  great  deep,  so  that  when 


Il6  OLD  AND  NEW  LACE  IN  ITALY. 

the  happy  clay  dawned  that  was  to  crown  their  happiness  by  the 
union  of  their  faithful  hearts,  this  simple  Venetian  maiden  stepped 
forth  from  her  lowly  home  to  meet  her  lover,  blushing  beneath 
her  own  handiwork,  forming  a  veil  such  as  no.  crowned  head  had 
ever  been  able  to  pride  itself  on  wearing,  and  presented  to  the 
sunlight  the  first  example  of  that  rarest  and  most  delicate  of  all 
laces,  the  inestimable  "Rose  point,"  of  which  many  of  the  beau- 
tiful Venetian  point  laces  (from  1033  to  1040)  exhibited  by  Her 
Majesty,  the  Queen,  are  composed. 

The  small  fichu  No.  114,  and  the  deep  cuff  No.  172  cases  are. 
such  fine,  complicated  examples  of  this  lace  that  they  are  worthy 
to  be  placed  with  their  royal  sisters  to  illustrate  this  romance  of 
the  needle.  While  the  professional  lace-makers  toiled  with 
inventive  zeal,  they' were  not  forgotten  or  neglected  by  their 
high  born  patronesses  of  all  that  was  beautiful.  A  Lady  Mary 
of  the  great  name  of  Morosine,  which  is  synonymous  with  the 
honor  and  glory  of  Venice,  had  no  sooner  married  than  she 
devoted  her  lofty  intelligence  to  the  amelioration  of  her  poorer 
sisters.  She  had  ever  been  inspired  oy  a  fervent  desire  to  benefit 
her  countrywomen,  and  made  use  of  the  experience  gained  in 
the  women's  workroom  of  her  father's  palace  to  start  a  school 
and  large  atelier,  which  she  personally  superintended,  becoming 
one  of  the  most  severe  and  undefatigable  protectresses  of  artistic 
design  and  perfect  execution  in  the  various  Venetian  points. 
Another  daughter  of  the  same  house,  also  named  Lady  Mary, 
who  married  the  Doge  Marini  Grimaldi,  following  the  example 
of  her  ancestors,  devoted  her  private  purse  to  the  founding 
and  maintenance  of  a  great  atelier  in  the  quarter  of  Venice  called 
Santa  Fosca,  richly  endowing  it  and  providing  a  permanent 
teacher  and  directress,  who  was  guaranteed  every  comfort  and  a 
pension  for  life.  This  school  produced  the  clever  workwomen 
who  executed  those  beautiful  laces,  which  tempted  the  wealthy 
of  the  whole  of  Europe,  and  which  caused  Cardinal  Mazarin,  and 
afterwards  Colbert,  to  cast  such  envious  glances  on  this  source 
of  prosperity  for  Venice;  probably  its  busy  workrooms  were 
those  visited  and  described  by  the  French  ambassador  whom 
Colbert  had  instructed  to  spy  out   all    details  regarding  the  pro- 


OLD  AND  NEW  LACE  IN  ITALY,  I  \~ 

duction  of  and  the  commerce  in  needle  lace  and  write  him  a 
careful  report  of  all  he  saw  and  heard,  these  carious  letters  being 
still  in  existence  in  the  French  archives  of  state,  and  probably  it 
was  here  that  this  same  French  nobleman  bought  the  very  pi< 
of  Venetian  point  which,  he  writes  to  Colbert,  he  is  sending  him 
to  illustrate  his  statements  and  to  serve  as  experimental  patterns 
for  the  French  in  case  the  minister  cared  to  try  having  them 
copied  for  the  French  workwomen.  The  directresses  of  this 
exhibit  have  been  unsuccessful  in  their  endeavors  to  open  the 
ancient  coffers  of  this  great  family,  and  draw  from  perfumed 
darkness  some  rare  bit  of  antique  Venetian  point  which  would 
earn*  to  America  the  memory  of  this  old  atelier,  and  of  the 
many  historic  and  philanthropic  deeds  in  the  history  of  the 
proud  Republican  city,  with  which  the  name  of  Morosini  is 
inseparably  associated  in  the  mind  of  every  school  girl,  but  for 
all  that  there  are  no  lack  of  illustrations  furnished  by  great 
Venetian  families. 

The  Countess  Rapadopoli  has  contributed  a  rare  collection 
of  historical  laces,  which  will  be  described  later  in  this  chapter, 
and  the  family  of  Falier,  which  has  counted  so  many  doges, 
ambassadors  and  senators  among  its  sons,  has  had  its  historic 
laces  photographed  ( Nos.  423,425,  wall )  for  the  ladies,  and  in  them 
is  seen  interlaced  among  the  delicate  blossoms,  of  which  consist 
the  Rose  point,  the  doge's  horn  and  double  F,  forming  the  mono- 
gram of  the  personage  for  whom  the  lace  was  executed.  Among 
the  photographs  the  Cathedral  of  Lucca  sends  two,  and  No. 
421,  wall,  of  the  same  quality  of  rose  point,  which  belong  to  its 
treasure;  and  the  Princess  Corsini,  one  of  the  queen's  ladies,  who 
is  also  a  patroness,  contributes  a  most  interesting  collection  of 
photographs  of  the  superb  Venetian  lace  existing  among  the 
innumerable  objects  of  art  which  form  the  heirlooms  of  that 
renowned  Italian  family,  of  which  her  husband  is  head. 

The  photograph,  Xo.  441  A.  is  taken  from  an  exceptionally 
elaborate  piece  of  reticella,  of  the  sixteenth  century,  composed  of 
leaves  and  wheels,  and  edged  with  deep  turrets. 

No.  441  B  wall  is  photographed  from  a  magnificent  flounce  in 
Rose    point    of   the    seventeenth   century  introduced   at    regular 


Il8  OLD  AND  NEW  LACE  IN  ITALY. 

intervals  with  a  monogram  and  princely  crown  surmounted  by  a 
canopy,  representing  the  special  distinction  of  the  "baldachino" 
(canopy)  accorded  by  the  pope  to  the  Roman  princes  or  noble 
houses  as  a  mark  of  peculiar  favor.  No.  443  H  wall  is  taken  from 
some  of  the  same  set  of  lace  and  constitutes  the  lower  end  of  one 
of  the  extravagant  aprons  which  were  the  fashion  in  the  seven- 
teenth century  and  sometimes  cost  a  thousand  dollars.  No.  443  B. 
wall  represents  a  perfectly  preserved  square  collar  in  the  form  of 
a  jabot  of  the  kind  depicted  as  worn  by  Colbert  in  his  portrait. 
This  example  is  trimmed  with  richly  worked  "punto  tagliato 
a  fogliamo."  No.  443  C  wall  is  reproduced  from  a  cuff  and 
border  of  rich  Rose  point  belonging  to  the  same  family. 

No.  543  and  the  succeeding  numbers  to  571  are  all  photographs 
of  Venetian  embroideries  and  laces  of  this  epoch  still  existing  in 
the  convents  of  the  province  of  Udine  not  far  from  Venice.  The 
patrician  family  of  Rezzonico,  of  which  Pope  Clement  the  VII 
was  a  member,  is  represented  not  only  by  the  superb  Venetian 
point  lace  (1004)  of  the  eighteenth  century,  belonging  to  Her 
Majesty  Queen  Margherita,  and  which  has  been  so  frequently 
copied  at  Burano,  but  also  by  a  surplice,  No.  196,  in  exquisitely 
embroidered  muslin  with  insertions  of  pillow  lace  and  bordered 
with  choice  lace  of  the  kind  made  by  the  Salesian  nuns.  The 
piece  of  lace  No.  386,  near  by,  was  also  made  by  the  nuns  of  the 
same  order.  Tradition  says  that  this  surplice  was  made  for  the 
Rezzonico  Pope  Clement  VII,  as  an  offering  from  his  native  city, 
and  the  admirers  of  the  great  poet  Browning  presented  it  to  him 
in  recognition  of  his  love  for  Italy  and  Venice,  and  above  all  as 
a  memento  of  the  mighty  pope,  who,  in  his  youth,  passed 
musingly  in  and  out  of  the  great  saloons  and  marble  courts  on 
Browning's  purchase  of  the  palace.  This  surplice  is  lent  by  the 
lady  patroness,  who  now  occupies  the  vast  and  solemn  palace 
built  in  the  childhood  of  that  pontiff,  and,  which  of  late  years 
became  the  last  earthly  home  of  the  glorious  poet,  whose  son 
she  married. 

No.  514  cases  is  another  surplice  and  the  most  antique  in  this 
historic  group.  It  dates  from  the  sixteenth  century  and  is  com- 
posed entirely  of-  bands    of    finest  Burato  worked  in  trapunto  and 


OLD  AND  NEW  LACE  IN  ITALY.  I  19 

trimmed  with  insertions  and  borders  oi  Genoese  \  oint.     It  is  the 
property  of  the  old  Bolognese  family  of  Dallolio,  a  daughter  ol 

which  has  rendered  its  name  illustrious  by  her  poems. 

Other  beautiful  flounces  and  bits  of  rose  and  different  Vene- 
tian points  which  have  been  left  unmentioned  and  can  not  be 
described  for  lack  of  space  are: 

No.  622  cases,  a  jabot  of  fine  rose  point. 

No.  354  cases,  a  cuff  of  the  earliest  quality  of  the  same. 

No.  343  case,  a  square  of  elaborate  rose  point. 

No.  345  cases,  a  cuff  of  the  same. 

No.  329  cases,  a  piece  of  ivory  point. 

No.  349  cases,  a  square  of  linen,  edged  with  "  Punto  tagliato  a 
fogliamo." 

Nos.  100, 102  cases  are  two  flounces,  one  of  "Punto  in  aria,"  and 
the  other  of  ivory  point;  they  belong  to  the  most  flourishing  period 
of  this  lace;  and  266  c  is  interesting  as  having  been  made  in  the 
same  lace,  for  the  border  of  one  of  those  immense  handkerchiefs 
which  necessarily  supplemented  the  jewelled  snuff  boxes  of  the 
seventeenth  century  and  are  inseparably  united  with  them  in  the 
depths  of  the  voluminous  pockets  of  the  period.  Finally  we  linger 
beside  No.  256,  a  flounce  consisting  of  the  softest,  most  exquisite 
quality  of  Venetian  "  punto  in  aria  "  composed  entirely  of  fine 
leaves  and  delicate  tendrils.  This  was  the  favorite  lace  of  Louis 
XIV,  the  same  which  Colbert  sought  all  too  successfully  to  have 
copied  by  Frenchwomen  and  to  establish  as  a  French  product. 

260  consists  of  the  deep  cuffs  or  "  revers"  worn  by  men  and 
women  alike  at  the  period  when  it  was  ma  !e;  and  258  is  the 
narrow  trimming  of  the  same  set  of  lace.  This  superb  lace 
originally  belonged  to  the  royal  house  of  Navarre,  and  is  truly 
regal  in  conception,  execution  and  effect.  No  wonder  that  on 
contemplating  such  work  the  wise  statesman  coveted  for  the 
industry  of  his  country  the  well  filled  sacks  of  golden  coin  which 
were  sent  ever)'  year  to  Italy  in  exchange  for  such  wonderful  and 
delicate  fabrics. 

Ever  since  1613,  under  the  powerful  and  far  seeing  Richelieu, 
severe  restrictions,  followed  by  absolute  prohibitions,  such  as  the 
famous  Code  Michaud  and  the  supplementary  ones,  which  con- 


120  OLD    AND    NEW    LACE    IN    ITALY. 

tinued  to  appear  from  time  to  time,  had  been  promulgated  in 
vain  against  every  kind  of  lace,  one  of  these  which  serves  as  an 
example  for  all  has  been  most  wittily  recorded  in  the  satire 
called  the  "  Revolt  des  passements,"  dedicated  to  Mademoiselle 
de  la  Crousse,  Madame  de  Sevigne's  niece. 

But  these  wise  laws,  by  which  Richelieu,  Mazarin  and  his  pupil 
and  successor,  Colbert,  tried  to  limit  the  terrible  extravagance  of 
the  French  nobility  had  been  enacted  in  vain,  and  the  fashion 
for  lace  was  so  great  and  the  resolve  of  the  wealthy  to  resist 
their  decrees  as  obstinate  as  was  their  determination  to  follow 
the  example  of  the  young  "  Roi  Soleil  "  and  his  gaudy  butterfly 
court,  who  spent  millions  on  dress  and  furniture.  In  fact,  the 
young  king  was  the  first  to  defy  the  law,  having  inherited  from 
his  Italian  grandmother  an  exceeding  vanity  and  love  for  fine 
clothes,  and  above  all  an  especial  fondness  for  Venetian  laces,  so 
that  he  set  a  ruinous  example  to  all  those  who  surrounded  him. 

Note.  This  piece  is  very  curious  and  full  of  information  about 
the  laces  in  use  at  the  time  of  Louis  XIV7,  and  as  it  has  not  been 
given  in  any  modern  publication,  we  have  considered  it  worth 
while  to  reprint  it  entirely,  as  an  appendix  to  this  volume, 
which  will  be  sold  separately. 

This  weakness  of  his  was  so  widely  known  that  a  rich  Eng- 
lishman, desirous  of  ingratiating,  himself  with  the  king,  traveled 
in  his  private  carriage  all  the  way  to  Venice,  where  he  had  a 
wonderful  hat  manufactured,  in  the  finest  Venetian  point  lace, 
composed  of  soft,  white,  human  hair  instead  of  thread,  to  offer 
as  a  rare  and  becoming  present  to  the  youthful  monarch  on  his 
coronation.  This  little  attention  is  said  to  have  cost  the  Briton 
forty  eight  thousand  lires  for  the  hat  alone,  without  counting  the 
expense,  worry,  anxiety  and  fatigue  incident  on  a  long  journey 
with  so  fragile  and  precious  an  article  at  that  period.  As  soon 
as  Colbert  could  turn  his  attention  to  commercial  questions  his 
quick  intelligence  realized  that  the  time  had  come,  when  laws 
could  no  longer  restrain  the  tastes  of  the  rich  who  would  have 
their  luxuries  at  any  price,  and  that  the  only  way  to  stop  the 
steady  progressive  impoverishment  of  the  country,  by  the  exporta- 
tion   of   large  sums   of  money  in  exchange  for  rich  merchandise, 


OLD  AND  NEW  LACE  IN  tTALY.  121 

was  to  find  a  means  of  rivaling,  with  home  products,  executed  by 

the  same  rules,  the  same  material  and  effects,  the  alluring 
beauties  from  afar,  for  these  Italian  laces  and  silks,  especially, 
seemed  to  bewitch  all  who  saw  them  and  to  exereise  a  fatal  at- 
traction to  reckless  extravagance,  and  he  therefore  studied 
thoroughly  the  question  of  their  introduction  and  prepared 
everything  with  minute  care,  and  when  he  had  found  a  soil  suited 
to  the  coveted  products,  he  started  the  inhabitants  of  Lyons  at 
manufacturing  the  rarest  qualities  of  silks  and  velvets  and  with 
regard  to  lace  he  managed  by  promises  of  great  rewards  and 
special  favors  to  persuade  skilled  workwomen  to  come  and  teach 
their  secrets  to  the  far  less  able  lace-makers  of  France.  Mazarin 
had  set  him  the  example  with  more  ordinary  silks  and  with  other 
trades,  and  Venice,  who  now  saw  her  cleverest  artisans  slipping 
away  from  the  workshops,  was  forced  in  self-defence  to  promul- 
gate a  severe  decree  inflicting  imprisonment  and  even  death  on 
the  families  of  those  emigrants  who  should  continue  to  absent 
themselves,  but  promising  not  only  full  pardon,  but  also  honors 
and  lucrative  employment  to  themselves  and  to  their  relatives  if 
they  returned;  but  it  was  already  too  late,  the  barriers  had  been 
broken  down,  the  habit  established,  cupidity  on  the  one  side  and 
French  intelligence,  high  patronage  and  the  irresistible  will  of 
the  "Grand  Monarque,"  backed  by  the  genius  of  Colbert  on  the 
other,  had  conqured,  and  the  Queen  of  Commerce,  whom  cen- 
turies of  prosperity  had  rendered  lazy  and  negligent  of  her  own 
interests,  was  destined  to  see  her  monopoly  of  the  manufacture 
and  trade  in  velvets  and  laces  slowly  ruined  by  the  fierce  compe- 
tition, business  enterprise  and  clever  statescraft  of  other  cities 
and  nations. 

Ten  years  of  able  management  permanently  established  the 
manufacture  of  point  laces  in  France.  The  exclusive  right  of 
manufacture  had  been  ceded  for  this  period  to  a  society  having 
such  directors  as  Pluymiers,  Lebie  and  Lebie  de  Beaufort,  in 
whose  hotel  in  Paris,  the  emporium  for  its  products  was  first 
opened  and  where  also  the  board  met  and  Louis  XIV  went  to 
examine  the  first  French  lace.  The  king's  smile  was,  in  those 
days,  worth   all  the    most   attractive  modern  advertising,  and  the 


122  OLD  AND  NEW  LACE  IN  ITALY. 

directors  did  all  in  their  power  to  gain  his  approbation,  and  so 
when  His  Majesty  went  after  supper  to  the  Hotel  Beaufort  to  see 
the  new  laces  which  had  been  made  into  carefully  chosen  designs, 
such  as  he  was  known  to  like,  he  designated  them  by  the  sound- 
ing title  of  "Grand  point  dc  France;"  and  declared  himself  highly 
pleased  with  them,  who,  at  court,  could  fail  to  be  pleased  also? 
and  when  soon  after,  he  opened  the  wonderful  new  pavilions  at 
Marly,  each  lady  of  the  court,  who  was  his  guest  on  that  occasion, 
found  a  complete  garniture  of  this  same  lace  awaiting  her  in  her 
dressing  room,  as  a  delicate  attention  from  the  king,  (a  prize 
packet  advertisement  worthy  of  so  great  a  personage)  how  could 
she  fail  to  discard  her  old  Venetian  point  and  to  wear  instead  the 
new  lace  in  honor  of  the  most  amiable  and  generous  of  hosts, 
and  when  all  the  lucky  women,  who  had  been  to  Marly,  wore 
French  lace,  how  could  the  unlucky  ones  who  had  not  been  in- 
vited, appear  in  court  in  Italian  point,  as  a  perpetual  reminder  of 
their  enforced  absence? 

Thus  was  floated  a  new  French  industry  in  the  seventeenth 
century,  and  it  strikes  me  that  behind  the  highflown  court  com- 
pliments and  graceful  elegancies  was  hidden  all  the  clever  com- 
mercial astuteness  of  our  work-a-day  Paris  of  the  nineteenth 
century.  This  intelligent  stroke  of  business  diplomacy  is 
recorded  by  Borleau  in  the  poem  called  "  l'e  pitre  au  Roi." 

— "Et  nos  voisins  fenstresde  ces  tributs  serviles," 
— "Rue  payait  a  leur  art  le  luxe  de  nos  villes." 

The  gains  of  the  society  were  naturally  enormous,  but  on  the 
expiration  of  the  monopoly  it  was  not  renewed,  as  Colbert 
desired  prosperity  among  the  people  and  a  more  rapid  diffusion 
of  the  new  industry  than  could  possibly  take  place  under  even 
the  most  extensive  of  monopolies  and,  therefore,  encouraged  the 
forewomen  in  setting  up  manufacturies  of  their  own.  The  society 
had  started  schools  in  Aurillac,  Sedan,  Duquesnay,  Arras,  Sou- 
dan, and  other  towns,  but  these  Dlaces  soon  lapsed  again  into 
making  the  bobbin  lace  for  which  they  had  been  previously  dis- 
tinguished, and  it  was  in  Alencon,  and  in  the  neighboring  town  of 
Argentan  and  surrounding  villages  alone,  that  the  new  variety  of 
needle  lace  took  root,  and  this  is  easily  accounted  for  by  the  fact 


OLD  AND  NEW  LACE  IN  ITALY.  123 

that  the  tradition  of  needle  lace-making  already  existed  there, 
while  they  were  ignorant  of  the  use  of  bobbins.  Catherine  de 
Medicis  had  received  the  county  of  Alencon  as  her  dower  and 
during  her  widowhood  paid  long  visits  to  the  castle  where,  court- 
ing popularity,  she  surrounded  herself  with  ladies  from  that  prov- 
ince whom  she  inspired  with  her  love  for  working  in  reticella, 
embroidered  net  and  the  laces  of  her  time,  teaching  them  herself 
as  she  had  instructed  her  daughters  and  the  maids  of  honor  at 
the  Louvre.  These  ladies  on  their  return  home  taught  the  new 
work  in  their  turn  to  all  their  friends,  and  the  fashion  gradually 
spread  through  the  neighborhood  so  that  when  Colbert,  in  1665, 
began  to  look  round  for  favorable  spots  in  which  to  start  the  new 
industry,  the  intelligent  Favier  Duboulay,  who,  in  his  official 
position  at  Alencon  had  every  opportunity  for  observing  the  con- 
dition of  the  industry,  wrote  to  him  that  vast  number  of  women 
and  children  in  and  around  Alencon  and  Argentan  were  busied  in 
producing  "velin,"  which  was  what  they  called  reticella,  on 
account  of  the  parchment  on  which  it  was  worked,  and  a  proof  of 
its  resemblance  to  the  lace  afterward  manufactured  is  that  this 
term  was  retained  by  them  to  designate  the  needle  point  which 
supplanted  it.  He  also  wrote  that  for  several  years  a  certain 
Marthe  Barbot  dame  de  la  Perriere,  "who  had  learned  the  art  in 
Venice,"  had  been  perfecting  so  many  of  the  able  work-women  in 
point  lace;  that  there  were  eight  hundred  who  were  engaged  on 
the  finer  qualities,  and  Mme.  de  la  Perriere  was  able  to  sell  the 
products  of  her  ateliers  for  which  there  was  great  demand  at  very 
high  prices.  It  would  seem  that  here  the  monopoly  should  have 
immediately  and  greatly  prospered,  but  people  were  accustomed 
to  working  at  home  from  too  long  accepted  designs  and  resisted 
the  innovations  in  every  possible  way  until  forced  to  submission 
by  the  government  officials;  they  then  learned  to  produce  most 
beautiful  work  and  through  the  company  and  the  Italian  teachers 
furnished  by  it  acquired  all  the  knowledge  Colbert  desired,  which 
extended  to  eighty-five  varieties  of  stitches.  This  story  is  less 
romantic  than  that  told  of  Colbert's  neice,  the  abbess  of  a  convent 
near,  and  of  his  mooted  castle  of  Lourai,  in  which  Mrs.  Pallisier 
says:    "The  manufactory  was  started  under  the  direction   of  the 


124  0LD    AND    NEW    LACE    IN    ITALY. 

wonderfully  clever,  though  mythical,  Mme.  Gilbert,  who  had  at 
great  expense  brought  thirty  lace-makers  from  Venice.  Of  this 
country  seat  she,  Mrs.Pallisier,  even  gives  an  illustration  in  her  his- 
tory of  lace,  where  she  also  tells  of  Mme.  Gilbert's  visit  to  the  King 
of  Paris,  the  rewards  she  received,  etc.,  all  very  interesting  but  de- 
cidedly legendary,  as  the  only  shot  necessary  to  fire  at  the  frail 
fabrication  to  see  it  crumble  is  to  mention  that  the  castle  of  Lou- 
rai  did  not  come  into  the  Colbert  family  until  the  prime  minister's 
oldest  son,  Jean  Baptiste,  married  Catherine  Therese  de  Martignan 
to  whose  family  this  castle  had  long  belonged  and  who  brought  it 
as  part  of  her  dower  in  1679,  fourteen  years  after  the  opening  of 
the  lace  schools  at  Alencon  by  the  company. 

The  lace  which  the  women  preferred  to  make  at  Alencon  was 
not  the  regular  Point  de  Venise,  although  this  was  produced  when 
ordered,  but  the  lighter  Burano  point  which  came  into  fashion 
when  that  frail  porcelain-like  beauty,  the  Fontange,  decided  to 
cover  her  skirts,  as  well  as  her  head  and  her  arms  (she  would 
rather  have  died  than  have  hidden  her  pretty  neck),  with  rich, 
though  vaporous  laces,  wishing  to  enhance  the  light  and  airy 
effect  characteristic  of  her  style  of  beauty. 

Of  course  the  old  and  fat  ladies  of  the  court  immediately 
followed  the  fashion  and  adopted  this  style  of  dress,  and  the 
more  severe  Venetian  punto  taghalo  afogliame  and  Spanish  points 
that  suited  their  vast  and  dignified  proportions  were  abandoned 
to  the  men  and  the  priests. 

Those  little  seventeenth  century  moths  who  aped  the  butter- 
flies and  fluttered  perpetually  about  the  fair  flowers  of  the  court, 
and  were  known  as  "abbes,"  also  preferred  the  lighter  laces 
adopted  by  the  women,  in  whose  boudoirs  they  eternally  posed 
and  flirted.  Pupazze  or  "babies"  as  they  were  called  in  England, 
the  great  lay  figures  dressed  in  the  latest  fashions,  were  sent 
every  year  from  the  French  capital  to  all  parts  of  the  world,  and 
the  costume  of  the  Italian  ladies  was  as  superb  as  that  of  the 
French  court,  as  is  seen  by  the  gold  embroidery,  in  No.  190  cases," 
made  at  Florence  and  by  the  portraits  of  the  period.  French 
lace  was  everything, the  French  fashions  "derigueur"  and  the  ladies 
who  received  Louis   XIV  at  Bologna  on  his   visit   to   Italy  and 


OLD    AND    NEW     LACE    IN    ITALY.  [25 

entertained  and  feasted  him  endeavored  to  appear   more    French 

than  the  ladies  who  accompanied  him,  as  we  see  from  the  car- 
toons illustrating  his  visits  there,  of  which  we  exhibited  repro- 
ductions, for  the  costumes  of  this  golden  age  of  lace  have  been 
portrayed  minutely,  six  times  a  year,  from  1530  to  [796,  in  ani- 
mated scenes  peopled  by  celebrities  and  painted  often  by  well 
known  artists  on  large  sheets  of  parchment  in  water  colors, 
forming  elaborate  miniatures  all  bound  in  sixteen  great  volumes 
which  are  preserved  in  the  state  archives  of  Bologna.  Tin  se 
form  the  illustrated  Insignia,  (a  word  derived  from  cose  insigni, 
i.  e.,  things  remarkable),  and  are  the  cartoons  which  accompany 
the  records  of  the  names  and  arms  of  the  gonfaloniere  of  justice, 
and  the  eight  Anziani  or "ancients"  two  for  each  quarter,  or  gate  of 
the  city,  who  governed  Bologna  for  two  months,  and  then  were 
replaced  by  other  nine  of  the  most  prominent  nobles  and  citizens. 
It  was  the  custom  to  illustrate  the  most  important  events  of  this 
short  administration,  and  to  this  we  are  indebted  for  these  most 
remarkable  paintings.  Now  and  then  comes  a  sad  note  of  pesti- 
lence or  death,  but  as  a  rule  we  are  treated  to  exact  and  minute 
reproductions  of  the  great  receptions,  processions,  feasts,  tourna- 
ments, games,  spectacles  and  religious  ceremonies,  in  honor  of 
some  visiting  prince  or  potentate.  Here  we  see  represented  the 
black  lace  and  deep  "point  d' Angleterre"  flounces  which  Madame 
de  Sevigne  writes  about  as  having  just  come  into  fashion  under 
the  name  of  "jupes  transparentes"  and  as  so  becoming  and  so 
bewitching.  The  fancy  for  black  lace  was  so  great  at  this 
period,  when  for  the  first  time  it  came  into  use  and  was  therefore 
a  complete  novelty,  that  lace  designs  were  even  stamped  upon 
linen  in  black,  and  dresses  trimmed  with  these  borders  to  imitate 
the  original  and  expensive  new  variety  of  lace  which  could  not 
be  manufactured  fast  enough  and  cheaply  enough  to  satisfy  the 
demand.  A  piece  of  this  old  fashioned  "print"  is  exhibited  on  the 
screen  No.  301.  In  the  Insignia  the  deep  flounces  and  black 
laces  are  worn  by  the  ladies  with  "coiffures  a-la  Fontange"  that  is  to 
say,  with  their  heads  adorned  with  coxcombs  of  lace  filled  in  at 
the  back  with  feathers  and  exaggerated  out  of  all  semblance  to 
the  dainty  lace  kerchief  which  the  beauty,  whose  name  they  bear, 


126  OLD    AND    NEW    LACE    IN    ITALY. 

tied  so  gracefully  about  her  pretty  head  when  the  truant  wind 
played  havoc  with  her  tresses  on  one  of  King  Louis  XlV's  hunt- 
ing parties.  These  same  Bolognese  ladies  in  the  Insignia  have 
dresses  cut  as  low  as  they  were  worn  at  the  French  court,  and 
edged  above  the  body  and  sleeves  with  lace  or  passement.  They 
wear  long  gloves  and  carry  their  muffs  to  balls  and  to  dinner  and 
everywhere  else  with  them  just  as  did  our  "elegantes"  three  years 
ago  with  their  "boas"  made  of  fur  or  feathers.  We  see  these 
muffs  represented  in  the  hands  of  the  ladies  at  the  banquet  given 
by  the  Gonfaloniere  Francesco  Ratta  in  1692,  which  was  so  very 
grand  and  solemn  a  function  that  every  guest  appeared  with  his 
or  her  invitation  carried  in  the  hand  as  a  card  of  admittance,  and 
judging  from  the  confusion  and  disgusting  faces  depicted,  there 
seems  to  have  been  no  end  of  jealousy,  rancor  and  bad  humor 
displayed  by  the  guests  who  were  placed  according  to  their  rank. 
It  is  from  part  of  this  cartoon  the  sketch  has  been  taken  illustrat- 
ing the  fashions  from  1600 — 1700. 

The  muffs,  the  fontanges  and  the  low-necked  dresses  accom- 
panied their  mistresses  also  to  the  solemn  aula  of  the  University 
when  they  went  to  hear  the  wonderfully  wise  and  equally  youth- 
ful and  beautiful  Laura  Bassi  lecture  on  philosophy  whilst  the 
more  frivolous  sought  distraction  from  the  elevated  theme  to  which 
they  could  or  could  not  soar  by  ogling  the  men  present  who  wore 
quite  as  big  wigs,  stiff  coat  skirts  and  elegant  cravats  and  other 
lace  furbelows  and  whatnots  as  their  cousins  who  were  at  the 
French  court  at  Versailles. 

It  is  to  be  hoped  all  these  dressy  Bolognese  were  patriotic 
enough  to  wear  the  Burano  point,  from  which  the  Alencon  was 
copied  and  had  not  imported  all  their  laces  with  the  fashions 
from  France  as  they  did  during  the  empire,  for  this  old  Burano 
lace  is  so  soft  and  beautiful  that  it  truly  deserved  a  better  fate,  as 
Nos.  267,  269  on  the  screen,  and  Nos.  476,  308  in  the  cases 
will  prove,  which  are  examples  of  this  work  left  unfinished  in  the 
convents  by  nuns  long  since  dead.  No.  308  cases  is  especially 
lovely  in  design,  with  its  tiny  cornucopia  full  of  microscopic 
flowers. 

Nos.    271,  273    screen    and    the    collection    No.  302    and    304 


OLD  AND  NEW  LACE  IN  ITALY.  \  2~ 

cascs  are  pieces  of  it,  many  of  which  arc  in  a  ragged  and  neglected 
state,  but  still  serve  to  prove  the  fineness  and  beauty  of  design 
and  of  workmanship  which  characterized  old  Burano  la<  e. 

No.  304  cases  showing  the  shape  of  the  sleeve  falls  made  in 
the  eighteenth  century,  and  No.  266  ad,  are  exhibited  by  Signora 
Area,  of  Padua,  and  No.  208,  a  flounce,  and  No.  214.  a  border, 
belong  to  the  Countess  Papadopoli,  in  Venice. 

No.  436  barbes  belonging  to  the  Countess  Biacceschi;  they 
are  all  rarely  beautiful  pieces  of  this  Italian  lace  and  nothing 
from  Brussells,  Alencon  or  Argentan  has  ever  surpassed  it.  That 
the  ladies  of  Italy  in  the  eighteenth  century  appreciated  the 
French  adaptation  of  their  art  is  illustrated  by  the  following  lists 
of  the  laces  which  their  descendants  sent  to  the  exhibition. 

To  begin  with  Alencon,  as  having  been  the  first  French  "cen- 
tre" of  lace-making,  Her  Majesty  exhibits  in  No.  104 1  one  of  the 
trimmings,  which  started  from  the  neck,  reaching  to  the  c<A^e  of 
the  skirt,  where  it  was  lost  in  a  pleat;  these  were  the  fashion  dur- 
ing the  reign  of  Louis  XV  in  the  eighteenth  century. 

No.  1042  is  a  cap  and  Nos.  1043,  '°44-  I045-  1046  are  all  flounces 
of  the  same  period.  Nos.  1047,  I048,  1049,  1050  are  all  small  pieces 
of  the  different  laces  which  Her  Majesty  has  lent  to  the  School  of 
Burano  at  different  times  to  be  copied  and  included  among  their 
models.  Other  ladies  who  exhibit  interesting  pieces  of  Alencon 
are  the  Countess  Papadopoli,  who  contributes  the  jabot  worked 
in  tiny  bees  worn  by  Gerome  Bonaparte,  king  of  Westphalia,  at 
the  coronation  of  his  brother,  the  Emperor  Napoleon.  It  was 
presented  to  the  Countess  Angelica  Aldobranchini  by  his  son, 
Prince  Napoleon,  on  her  marriage  with  the  great  grandfather  of 
the  present  Count.  The  reliefs  in  this  lace,  as  in  some  of  those 
of  Her  Majesty,  are  stuffed  with  horse-hair,  this  process  being 
copied  from  the  early  Venetian  point  lace,  but  it  is  not  pleasant 
to  wear,  as  the  sharp  ends  come  out  alter  a  time,  and  Her 
Majesty  had  the  horse-hair  in  some  of  hers  replaced  by  thread 
packing  at  the  School  of  Burano. 

No.  212  cases  belongs  also  to  the  same  lady  patroness,  the 
Countess  Papadopoli,  and  has  a  charming  Louis  XVI  design 
of  tinv  bunches  of  flowers,  held  by  bow  knots. 


128  OLD    AND    NEW    LACE    IN    ITALY. 

No.  216  cases  belongs  to  the  same,  but  it  is  of  the  reign  of 
Louis  XV. 

No.  272  cases  is  the  same  kind  of  lace  exhibited  by  Signora 
Anais  Forlani,  of  Padua. 

No.  122  cases  is  a  round  cuff  of  the  same  lace  exhibited  by 
the  patroness,  Countess  Colleoni,  from  the  old  collection  in  her 
family. 

The  piece  of  Point  d'Alencon,  No.  160  cases,  belongs  to  the 
Countess  Bonm,  one  of  the  patronesses,  and  was  inherited  by 
her  from  the  Empress  Maria  Louise,  through  one  of  the  Empress* 
maids  of  honor,  who  was  an  ancestress  of  the  present  Countess. 
It  is  copied  in  the  design  48,  made  at  Burano,  which  is  a  great 
favorite. 

No.  520  cases  are  two  broad  scarf  ends,  and  Nos.  564,  560,  568 
cases  are  three  trimmings  of  the  same  lace,  and  572  cases  is  a 
pretty  narrow  edging  of  this  French  lace.  On  the  screen  are 
exhibited  Nos.  275,  277  and  a  bit  of  machine  made  imitation,  No. 
279,  forcomparison  with  the  real  antique  or  modern  Alencon  point. 
In  Alencon  the  lace  manufacturers,  with  the  producers  who 
worked  for  them,  sold  everything  in  their  own  name,  and  went 
entirely  on  their  own  reputation,  and  objected  to  any  one  of  that 
city  receiving  the  special  privileges  attendant  in  those  days  on 
the  title  and  position  of  purveyor  to  the  king.  But  at  Argentan 
two  or  three  ateliers  enjoyed  the  coveted  title,  and  most  of  the 
laces  for  the  use  of  the  royal  family,  and  especially  for  the  royal 
trousseau,  were  made  there.  Her  Majesty,  the  Queen  of  Italy, 
possesses  the  most  beautiful  existing  examples  of  this  lace,  and 
exhibits  the  following  pieces  of  Argentan  point: 

No.  100 1  of  the  royal  laces  is  an  immense  bed  cover  which  is 
used  by  the  princesses  of  Savoia  during  the  ceremonies  and 
receptions  following  the  entrance  by  their  royal  offspring  upon 
the  stage  of  life.  It  served  in  the  room  of  which  Her  Majesty 
sends  a  photograph  at  the  birth  of  His  Late  Majesty,  King 
Victor  Emanuel  in  the  Carignano  palace  at  Turin. 

No.  002  of  the  royal  laces  is  a  deep  flounce,  composed  of  a 
pastoral  design  containing  ladies  swinging,  and  is   said   to  have 


OLD    AND    NEW    LACE    IN    ITALY.  I2g 

been  designed  b}'  Watteau,  and  served  with  No.  1001  in  the  rich 
decoration  of  the  princess'  apartments. 

Another  deep  flounce  of  this  same  lace.  No.  1003.  is  designed 
with  illustrations  of  animals  taken  from  .Hsop's  Fables. 

No.  1005  of  the  Royal  laces  was  made  especially  by  order  of 
Napoleon  the  First,  as  a  present  for  Cardinal  Retz  and  No.  1008 
among  the  narrow  flounces  is  the  trimming  that  matches  it.  This 
lace  represents  great  medallions  containing  flowers  and  doves  on  a 
fine  tulle  ground  held  together  by  bows  and  garlands  of  ribbon 
on  a  large  mesh  ground.  It  illustrates  the  innovation  which  was 
introduced  in  1S07,  and  consisted  of  shading  the  flowers,  6ne 
petal  being  made  in  close  stitch  and  the  other  in  sheer  stitch,  and 
gave  rise  to  a  tremendous  amount  of  criticism,  but  had  so  lovely 
an  effect  that  it  permanently  established  itself  in  lace  making. 

Another  Royal  Alencon  flounce,  No.  1006.  has  a  design  of  bal- 
ustrades and  stairs  and  vases,  such  as  was  very  much  the  fashion  in 
the  floriate  rococo  decorations  of  the  first  half  of  the  eighteenth 
century. 

On  another  flounce,  No.  1007,  are  represented  grasses  and  swans, 
and  from  No.  1009  to  1020  are  all  pieces  of  narrow  Argentan  lace, 
many  of  which  have  been  also  lent  by  Her  Majesty  as  models 
to  the  school  at  Burano.  Among  these  pieces  Nos.  101 1,  [012, 
1013,  1014  are  particularly  interesting  because  they  are  shaped  to 
form  the  bertha-like  trimming  worn  around  the  shoulders  which 
was  first  introduced  by  Madame  de  Maintenon  as  we  see  by  her 
portraits,  and  No.  1019  is  one  of  the  rich  frills  for  elbow  sleeves 
which  were  worn  with  the  same  costume.  Among  other  ladies 
who  exhibit  pieces  of  this  beautiful  lace  are  Mrs.  Hungerford, 
who  sends  No.  164,  which  is  composed  of  a  design  of  lakes  and 
bridges  in  the  finest  possible  quality  of  Argentan,  the  meshes  of 
the  ground  being  entirely  made  in  button-hole  stitch. 

Nos.  180,  182  cases  are  pretty  examples  consisting  ^\  two 
barbesandatrimming  of  one  design.  In  this  lace  Marie  Antoinette 
loved  to  adorn  her  delicate  beauty  in  all  that  was  softest  and 
lightest  and  the  world  followed  her  example  as  she  was  literally 
the  queen  of  fashion  in  the  eighteenth  century,  accepting  the 
position    seriously   and   holding  long   and   serious   consultations 


130  OLD    AND    NEW    LACE    IN    ITALY. 

with  Maclamoiselle  Bertin,  the  greatest  milliner  of  the  epoch,  who 
was  called  to  Versailles  for  the  purpose  of  consultation,  as  would 
have  been  a  real  prime  minister,  but  to  decide  grave  problems  of 
shades  and  forms  instead  of  political  questions,  and  then  on  her 
return  to  Paris  this  assistant  or  mistress  would  publish  the  auto- 
cratic decrees  of  fashion  laid  down  by  her  sovereign  and  from 
which  there  was  no  appeal.  This  queen,  surrounded  by  her  fam- 
ily, has  therefore  been  taken  as  the  subject  for  the  sketch  repre- 
senting the  prevailing  fashion  in  the  use  of  lace  during  the 
eighteenth  century. 

Her  above  mentioned  love  of  airiness  and  simplicity  is  that 
which  she  obtained  by  the  use  of  Indian  mull  and  the  embroideries 
upon  it  which  resembled  lace,  such  as  No.  257  screen  and  were 
called  Broiderie  des  Indes,  but  even  these  were  not  light  enough  to 
satisfy  her  fancy,  and  so  she  is  said  to  have  originated  the  lace  com- 
posed of  designs  in  fine  linen  lawn,  delicately  worked  around 
the  edge  in  lace  stitch  and  held  together  by  bars  as  in  the  Vene- 
tian Point;  an  example  of  this  variety,  No.  262,  belongs  to  Mrs. 
Orville  Horwitz;  at  other  times  the  mull  was  applied  to  a  ground 
composed  of  all  the  sixty-five  varieties  of  Argentan  stitches  as  is 
seen  in  the  flounce,  No.  96,  which  seems  the  embodiment  of  the 
graceful  Royal  Pastorales  at  which  the  youthful  queen  played  in 
the  Park  of  Trianon  and  awakens  a  sigh  for  the  untimely  extinc- 
tion of  so  artistic  and  charming  a  being. 

No.  292  cases  is  a  veil,  most  artistically  embroidered  in  thin 
lawn  dots,  on  the  finest  "point  de  Paris"  which  was  a  variety  of 
the  bobbin  lace  made  at  Malines,  engrafted  on  the  coarser  pillow 
laces  made  about  Paris  in  the  seventeenth  'century  and  produc- 
ing a  wonderful  hybrid.  This  veil  belonged  to  the  Empress 
Marie  Louise  as  did  the  soft  laces,  Nos.  294,  296,  which  were  worn 
by  Napoleon  with  the  three  jabots  (300),  one  of  which  is  worked 
in  roses  and  the  other  two  in  lotus  flowers  and  leaves,  evidently  in 
honor  of  his  Egyptian  campaign.  Another  piece  of  lace,  which 
belonged  to  the  Empress  Marie  Louise,  is  No.  298,  an  exquisite 
example  of  fine  Valenciennes,  and  was  also  made  when  every- 
thing PLgyptian  was  the  fashion  in  France. 


OLD    AND    NEW    LACE    IN    II  A'  Y.  [3] 

No.  17S  a  and  />  and  27s  cases  arc  other  examples  ol  point 
de  Paris  belonging  to  different  patronesses. 

Main-  other  thread  pillow -laces  were  made  in  France  beside 
the  blondes  of  Normandy  and  the  tambour  laces  of  Brittany, 
such  as  No.  297  which  variety  was  composed  ol  designs  embroid- 
ered on  tulle  net,  in  chain  stitch,  darning  or  simply  the  design  oi 
mull  being  applied  on  the  tulle  as  in  a  sample  on  the  screen.  No. 
364  is  a  veil,  from  Spain,  of  tambour  net  embroidered  with  the 
royal  crowns,  an  F  and  a  7  being  alternated  in  the  design.  It  was 
made  for  the  wife  of  King  Ferdinand,  the  Seventh,  Queen  Chris- 
tina, and  belongs  to  Lady  Layard. 

Xos.  154  and  296  in  the  cases,  and  No.  331  on  the  screen,  are 
of  the  same  kind  of  lace  from  Italy.  The  French  laces  in  the 
style  of  Torchons,  were  made  in  the  mountains  at  Lepuy.and  the 
same  laces  were  also  produced  in  large  quantities  in  Italy,  Switz- 
erland, Germany  and  main'  other  countries  of  Europe,  and  have 
been  of  late  largely  produced  in  England  and  Ireland. 

The  laces  in  the  style  of  Valenciennes  were  made  on  the  sea- 
coast  at  Dieppe,  Havre,  Harfleur,  etc.;  the  deep  and  finest  quali- 
ties of  pillow-laces,  resembling  those  of  Belgium,  were  made  prin 
cipally  at  Chantilly  (  118  cases)  and  at  Mirecourt,  Arras,  Bailleul 
and  above  all  at  Lille  in  the  north.  No.  280  and  472  cases  are  of 
a  particularly  fine  quality  of  Lille  lace,  and  the  latter  belongs  to  the 
reign  of  Louis  XVI,  during  which  it  was  very  much  the  fashion 
as  were  all  the  Flanders  laces  from  which  it  originated. 

In  Germany  the  art  of  bobbin  lace-making  developed  in  the  six- 
teenth century,  but  it  has  only  been  of  late  years  that  needle-lace 
has  been  produced  in  any  quantity  by  the  Teutonic  races.  Anys- 
burg  was  the  center  of  international  trade  at  the  time  of  its  origin. 
and  therefore  in  most  frequent  communication  with  Italy  and 
Belgium,  and  here  pattern-books  were  first  published  in  Germany, 
and  the  surrounding  country  became  the  German  center  of  lace- 
making. 

Barbara  Ultmann  was  a  native  of  the  neighboring  Nuremberg. 
and  when  she  married  an  engineer  director  of  the  mines  at  An- 
nasberg,  in  the  then  wild  district  of  the  Hartz  mountains,  she 
found  the  miners'  wives  about  her  new  home  making  nets  of  bone 


I32  OLD  AND  NEW  LACE  IN  ITALY. 

lace,  such  as  that  found  at  Panapolis,  and  she  undertook  to  teach 
them  the  more  perfect  bobbin  lace  she  had  learned  at  home  as 
a  girl.  Her  pupils  were  apt,  and  the  industry  grew  with  immense 
rapidity  under  her  intelligent  direction,  bringing  money  and  civili- 
zation to  the  inhabitants  of  the  entire  province  in  which  was  situ- 
ated Annasberg,  and  when  she  died  in  1575  at  a  ripe  old  age,  she 
was  mourned  by  no  less  than  thirty  thousand  workwomen,  who 
owed  to  her  their  knowledge  of  the  new  industry,  and  the  sixty- 
eight  descendants,  consisting  of  her  children  and  grandchildren 
who  accompanied  her  body  to  the  grave,  fulfilling  in  their 
number  the  prophecy  of  a  gipsy  who  had  foretold  to  her  that  for 
every  stitch  she  taught  the  people,  God  would  send  an  increase 
to  her  family.  The  story  must  have  grown  out  of  the  coincidence, 
but  it  is  firmly  believed  in  all  Saxony  and  Bohemia,  where  her 
name  is  greatly  revered,  and  her  tomb  at  Annasberg  is  often 
visited,  and  a  superb  statue  has  been  raised  there  to  her  memory 
of  late  years  by  public  subscription. 

The  Huguenots  and  Protestants  who  took  refuge  in  Germany, 
Denmark,  Sweden  and  England  assisted  in  the  development  of 
the  manufacture  of  pillow-lace,  wherever  they  settled  down,  as  it 
was  the  handiest  means  of  self-support  and  was  a  means  <>i 
lucrative  gain  both  in  selling  the  results  of  their  own  industry 
and  by  teaching  the  secret  of  their  production  to  others.  In  Eng- 
land the  spead  of  lace  making  was  facilitated  owing  to  the  yearly 
distribution  of  prizes  to  encourage  the  perfection  of  this  class  of 
handiwork.  In  Ireland,  as  in  all  Catholic  countries  in  which  lace 
has  been  introduced,  the  nuns  first  taught  it  to  their  pupils.  In 
Scotland,  Elizabeth,  Duchess  of  Hamilton,  tried  in  1745  to  estab- 
lish its  manufacture  with  small  success  and  after  her  death  its 
production  nearly  died  out.  Pieces  of  lace  and  samples  from  all 
these  countries,  as  well  as  from  South  America  and  Ceylon,  are 
included  in  our  exhibit,  but  marked  with  the  name  of  the  country 
in  which  they  were  manufactured,  as  these  qualities  exerted  no 
influence  upon  Italian  lace  making.  With  Flanders  it  is  different. 
Its  wonderfully  even  and  superior  quality  of  flax  and  thread  had 
enjoyed  a  great  reputation  in  Italy  as  early  as  the  thirteenth 
century,  if   not  before,  and  were  used  entirely  for  the  production 


OLD    AND    M.w     I   \CE    IN    ITALY.  I  J3 

of  fine  linen  textiles  and  lace-making  in  Venice.  In  the  latter 
part  of  the  sixteenth  century  the  Netherlands  furnished  Spam 
with  most  of  the  laces  used  in  that  country  and  was  always  the 
most  celebrated  source  of  fine  pillow  dace,  but  I  have  not  had 
time  to  find  out  how  this  art  developed  to  the  transcendental  and 
complicated  finess  of  quality  it  reached  in  the  most  expensive 
laces  of  Binche  and  Brussels  where  it  took  a  clever  workwoman 
a  year  to  produce  half  a  yard  of  edging  three  inches  wide  (such 
as  seen  in  numbers  124  and  270  d),  and  hearsay  is  a  weak  staff  to 
lean  upon  unless  well  supported  by  documentary  evidence.  In 
any  case,  during  the  seventeenth  century  the  manufactory  of 
these  filmy  airy  laces  began  which  have  never  been  equalled  by 
pillow  laces  from  any  other  part  of  the  world. 

In  Holland  and  Belgium  each  town  had  its  specialty  in  lace, 
which  was  attractive  and  different  from  that  of  any  other.  Brus- 
sels, the  capital  of  all,  worked  both  in  needle  lace  alone  in  the 
style  of  Burano  (as  seen  in  No.  270  A  cases)  and  in  pillow-lace 
alone  resembling  the  oldest  Mechlin  lace  (see  No.  212  cases),  and 
in  Point  d  'Angleterre  which  is  a  mixture  of  these  two  kinds  of 
lace.  It  was  originally  invented  for  the  Knglish  market,  hence 
its  name  (see  No.  251 )  which  with  the  laces  surrounding  it  on  the 
same  leaf  of  the  screen,  illustrate  the  varieties  of  fine  Flemish 
lace  with  the  exception  of  No.  247,  which  is  old  Devonshire  edg- 
ing copied  from  the  Dutch  laces  called  Trolle  Kant,  No.  259, 
which  is  Cretan  peasant  lace,  the  machine-made  imitation  of 
Brussels,  and  No.  261  of  old  Mechlin  placed  with  the  other  laces 
for  comparison. 

The  city  of  Brussels  has  been  able,  until  the  past  year  to  hold 
the  dominant  position  in  the  lace  trade,  despite  the  enormous 
size  of  the  commercial  centre  of  Paris  and  London;  but  rumors 
from  Belgium  announce  that  it  can  not  continue  to  stand  the 
competition  of  the  rest  of  the  world,  because  its  workwomen  are 
paid  much  more  than  those  of  other  nations,  who  have  learned 
the  secrets  of  its  art  and  will  not  resign  themselves  to  lower 
salaries. 

Her  Majesty  exhibits  in  Flanders  laces  a  superb  flounce  made 


134  OLD  AND  NEW  LACE  IN  ITALY. 

at  Binche,  No.  1025,  and  No.  102 1,  which  is  a  large  bed  spread 
strewn  with  designs  of  flowers  and  butterflies  in   Flanders   point. 

No.  1022  is  a  scarf  of  Brussels  needle  point. 

No.  1023  is  a  cap  of  point  d  'Angleterre. 

No.  1024  is  a  deep  flounce  that  matches  the  Flanders  bed 
spread  with  butterflies  and  flowers. 

Nos.  1026  and  1027  are  trimmings  for  a  costume,  consisting  of 
a  bertha  and  the  lace  to  match,  and  No.  1028  is  a  barbe  of  old 
rococo  Flanders  lace,  sometimes  called  Brabant  point. 

No.  1029  is  a  pair  of  the  lappets  often  used  instead  of  the  veil 
in  the  court  dress  prescribed  by  etiquette,  and  No.  1030  is  an 
edging. 

All  the  above  laces  belong  to  Her  Majesty. 

Other  ladies  exhibit  in  Point  d  'Angleterre  and  Flander's 
point. 

.  No.  108  cases,  is  a  fine  long  veil,  with  Apollo  represented  play- 
ing on  the  harp  and  surrounded  by  birds  belonging  to  the 
eighteenth  century  composed  of  Flanders'  point. 

No.  1 10  case  is  a  deep  flounce  with  birds  of  paradise  and  swans 
made  in  the  same  century  and  with  the  above  and  No.  ill  cases, 
a  narrower  flounce,  forming  a  complete  set  of  this  beautiful  lace. 

Nos.  92,  90,  cases  are  trimmings  of  Point  d'Angletere. 

Nos.  158  and  202  cases  are  of  the  same,  belonging  to  the  Bar- 
oness Treves  and  the  Countess  Pautucci  and  No.  206  cases,  is  of 
historical  interest  consisting. of  a  deep  flounce  with  double  head- 
ing especially  made  at  Brussels  of  "applique,"  Point  d'Angleterre 
for  the  Queen  of  Westphalia  to  wear  at  the  coronation  of  the 
Fmperor  Napoleon  the  First,  and  is  worked  in  the  arms  of  her 
husband's  kingdom.  This  piece  of  lace  was  presented  by  Prince 
Jerome  Bonaparte  to  the  Countess  Maddalena  Aldobrandini 
Papadopoli  of  Venice. 

No.  360  cases  is  a  flounce  of  Point  d'Angletere. 

No.  436  cases  are  lappets  in  old  Brussels  pillow  lace  of  the 
finest  quality. 

No.  518  cases  is  a  veil  in  Point  d'Angleterre  with  a  design  of 
holly  leaves  and  berries  made  at  the  beginning  of  this  century 
for  the  English  market  and  brought  from  this  country  to  Italy. 


OLD    AND    NEW     LACE    IN    ITAI.N  .  I  $5 

No.  520  cases  are  two  lappetts  in  Point  d'Angleterre,  belong- 
ing to  the  Marchcsa  Grimaldi  of  Bologna,  and  are  worthy  of  the 
name  they  bear. 

No.  558  cases  is  a  flounce  composed  of  very  graceful  designs 

in  the  same  lace,  and   No.   560  cases  is  an  antique    Brussels  ap- 
plique flounce,  while  No.  <;;2  cases  is  a  veil  in  old  Brussels  point. 
Nos.  ^y^  and  58ocases  are  two  trimmings  of  Point  d'Angleterre, 

and  No.  624  cases  is  a  jabot. 

No.  220  cases,  is  a  baptismal  veil  of  the  period  of  the  empire, 
adorned  with  human  figures  executed  in  Point  d'Angleterre, 
which  belonged  to  Queen  Carolina,  of  Naples,  sister  of  Napoleon 
and  wife  of  Murat,  and  was  inherited  from  her  by  her  great-grand- 
daughter, Countess  Guerini  Pepoli,  of  Bologna.  It>  design  is 
unique  and  very  artistic,  although  more  suited  to  embroidery  than 
lace. 

At  Binche  were  made  the  cobweb  laces.  Nos.  394,  396.  452 
cases,  etc.;  at  Malines  or  Mecklin,  the  delicate  narrow  flowered 
flounces  and  ruffles  dear  to  the  heart  of  graceful  Marie  Antoinette. 

At  Ypres  and  many  towns  were  made  the  fine  and  solid  Valen- 
ciennes; at  Bruges,  soft  silk  and  thread  laces  were  produced  in 
simple,  graceful  designs,  such  as  Nos.  362,  180  cases,  etc.,  and  the 
beautiful  Flanders  choir  lace  (see  No.  242  cases)  belonging  to 
Marchesa  Fianetta  Doria,  who  is  the  directress  of  the  branch 
of  our  committee  at  Genoa,  and  one  of  the  Queen's  Ladies. 

At  Antwerp  a  special  style  in  laces  was  adopted  such  as  the 
Troll  Kant  (  see  No.  438  ),  and  the  Potten  Kanti  of  which  examples 
are  also  exhibited)  which  was  suited  to  the  plaited  caps  of  the 
Dutch  housewives  of  high  and  low  degree,  ami  every  town  had  ;i 
new  variety  on  and  on,  through  the  long  list  of  Dutch  cities  and 
villages  which  each  produced  a  perhaps  less  celebrated  but 
always  pretty  lace,  manufactured  for  home  consumption  alone, 
or  else  for  exportation  in  vast  quantities  to  England,  France, 
Italy  and  above  all,  Spain.  Those  laces  which  consisted 
guipure,  with  a  broad  bold  design  were  made  in  the  north  and  the 
province  of  Hainault,  and  resemble  the  same  quality  ol  lace 
made  at  Genoa  and  Milan  ( see  Nos.  104  and  120  cases).  The 
pretty  rococo  designs  came   from    Brabard  and  were  so    perfectly 


I36  OLD    AND    NEW    LACE    IN    ITALY. 

reproduced  in  northern  Italy  where  they  were  very  much  appre- 
ciated that  they  can  not  be  distinguished  (see  Nos.  268,  368,  474, 
480.  498,  etc.,  in  the  cases,  and  327,  223,  177  made  in  Friuli,  on 
the  screen).  The  style  and  manner  of  producing  these  laces  has 
been  described  in  our  introduction  and  the  frequent  reproduction 
of  the  simpler  qualities  combined  with  the  immense  quantities  of 
finer  qualities  which  are  still  treasured  in  Italy,  are  illustrations  of 
the  esteem  which  Flanders  laces  have  always  enjoyed  in  this 
country. 

There  are  some  Italian  bobbin  laces  which  are  worthy  of  being 
placed  beside  the  beautiful  needle  points  already  described  and 
the  pillow  laces  above  mentioned.  These  laces  are  all  artistic, 
and  have  a  style  of  their  own;  they  originally  served  as  models 
for  the  early  Flanders  laces,  as  they  existed  before  them,  but  are 
quite  different  from  the  airy,  fairy  products  which  were  produced 
in  the  Netherlands  during  the  latter  half  of  the  seventeenth  and 
the  eighteenth  century,  which  we  have  just  been  passing  in  review. 
They  are,  however,  well  suited  to  adorn  the  rich  stately  type  of 
Italian  womanhood,  personified  in  the  Roman  matron  draped  in 
deep  hued  velvets  and  heavy  satins,  they  also  harmonize  with 
the  solemn  chants  and  rich  decorations  of  Basilicas  frescoed  by 
Giotto,  and  with  altars  from  which  gaze  down  the  pure  Madonnas, 
painted  by  Raphael.  The  Italian  designs  for  pillow  laces  never 
pictured  pastorals,  etc.,  and  so  were  specially  adapted  for 
church  linen  and  vestments  as  well  as  for  personal  and  house- 
hold decorations,  and  the  prejudice  against  the  introduction  of 
human  figures  or  animals  survives  among  this  people. 

Milanese  point  like  the  Venetian  guipure  originated  in  passe- 
ment  and  developed  rapidly  into  a  superb  lace  at  the  end  of  the 
sixteenth  century. 

The  lace  made  in  the  Abruzzi  resembles  the  Milanese  point 
lace  which  is  made  with  a  mesh  ground,  whereas,  the  Milanese 
guipure  and  the  Genoese  guipure  are  indistinguishable;  all  the 
pieces  of  antique  guipures  which  have  a  very  florate  design  are 
ascribed  to  Milan,  and  all  those  composed  of  arabesques  to 
Genoa. 

Her  Majesty  exhibits  two  pieces  of  Milanese  point,  No.  1,031  be- 


OLD   AND    NI'.U     LACE   IN   ITALY.  1 37 

ing  a  deep  flounce  of  the  finest  quality  of  this  lace  with  a   design 
composed  of  vases  and  lambrequins    and    No.    1,032   royal   la< 
which  is  a  piece  of  trimming  of  a  different  design. 

Other  ladies  have  contributed  the  following  Milanese  1 

Nos.  226  and  262  cases  are  flounces  with  flower  designs. 

No.  284  cases  is  a  square  sixteenth  century  collar. 

No.  396  cases  is  a  pattina  used  in  catholic  church  ceremonies. 

No.  406  cases  is  a  fine  flounce  exhibited  by  Countess  Agostini 
Venerosa  della  Seta,  directress  of  our  committee  at  Pisa.  This  is 
old  convent  work. 

414  is  a  trimming  of  the  same,  and  588  is  a  handsome  flounce 
of  this  same  lace  of  which  there  are  several  other  pieces  and 
samples  in  the  cases  and  on  the  screen,  such  as  127,  157,  205,  213, 
375  and  235. 

The  following  Neapolitan  laces  are  of  the  quality  known  as 
old  Abruzzi  mentioned  above,  which  are  so  named  from  the 
mountains  between  Rome  and  Naples,  in  which  the}'  were  manu- 
factured and  in  which  a  large  production  of  inferior  laces  con- 
tinue, only  requiring  the  breath  of  revivifying  commerce  to 
bloom  forth  in  their  original  beauty. 

No.  218  cases  is  a  flounce  composed  of  a  design  consisting  of 
flowers  issuing  from  vases, conventionally  treated  and  made  at  the 
time  of  Louis  XIV;  it  belongs  like  so  many  other  laces  to  the 
Countess  Papadopoli. 

No.  398  cases  is  a  beautiful,  fine  piece  of  the  same  lace  which 
was  made  during  the  sixteenth  century  in  a  convent  destroyed  by 
the  ill-famed  Marchese  Ruffo,  the  terror  of  his  country. 

No.  3,404  is  a  flounce  of  a  very  fine,  close  quality,  exhibited 
under  the  patronage  of  the  Countess  Agostine  della  Seta,  and 
shows  to  what  perfection  and  regularity,  lace  making  was 
also  carried   in  this  part  of  Italy. 

No.  338  cases  is  a  piece  of  the  same  kind  of  lace  bought  in 
Spain;  the  design,  which  is  coarse  in  quality,  consists  of  the  im- 
perial Austrian  double-headed  eagle  of  the  time  of  Charles  V, 
and  of  a  marquise's  coronet.  This  Emperor  conceded  to  several 
Italian,  as  well  as  Spanish,  families  as  a  sign  of  great  distinc- 
tion and  most  especial  favor,    the    privilege    of    bearing    the    im- 


I38  OLD  AND  NEW  LACE  IN  ITALY. 

perial  arms,  which  are  often  repeated  in  the  design  books  of  the 
sixteenth  century;  and  this  lace  was  evidently  made  for  some 
such  personage.     It  belongs  to  Lady  Layard. 

Nos.  209,  219,  229  screen  are  all  examples  of  this  lace  made 
in  Naples,  and  Nos.  215,217,  227  are  of  the  same  lace,  but  made 
in  the  Abruzzi.  At  Ischia  black  silk  laces  such  as  No.  289  were 
made;  at  Offida,  in  the  province  of  the  Marche,  much  Abruzzi 
lace  was  formerly  made,  as  also  a  kind  of  blonde  in  thread  (  see 
No.  274  cases)  and  all  the  ordinary  antique  household  laces,  as 
in  every  province  of  Italy;  but  now  the  production  in  the 
Marche  has  fallen  to  the  very  lowest  quality. 

In  Venetia,  besides  the  guipures  with  coarse  cords,  a  lace  was 
made  resembling  the  Milanese  guipure.  No.  618  is  an  example 
of  this  lace,  with  which  a  surplice  is  trimmed.  It  has  the 
antique  trefoil  design,  which  was  universally  made  in  Fruili  in 
the  eighteenth  century,  and  No.  348  is  an  exact  reproduction  of 
the  same  design,  made  by  a  clever  old  Venetian  lace-maker 
named  Victoria  Tranquilli.  who  also  reproduces  "blondes"  to 
perfection. 

In  Fruili  all  the  ordinary  laces  which  were  made  elsewhere 
in  Italy  were  also  produced,  as  well  as  an  original  quality  resem- 
bling old  Swedish  and  Danish  lace.  (See  No.  187  screen,  Nos. 
152,  380,  464  and  660  cases.)  At  Palestrina  and  Chioggia,  near 
Venice,  there  was  such  a  large  production  of  torchon  lace  that 
Palestrina  divides  with  Cantu  the  honor  of  having  this  quality  of 
lace  called  by  its  name.  Chioggia  is  identified  with  a  certain 
starred  mesh  (see  No.  131  screen,  No.  410  cases,  etc.),  which  is 
used  with  great  effect  even  in  the  finest  of  Belgian  pillow-laces. 
There  is  much  variety  in  the  simple  old  laces  and  an  appropri- 
ateness of  design  to  the  uses  for  which  they  were  destined,  and 
many  examples  of  them  are  exhibited  on  the  screen  and  in  the 
cases,  but  it  is  useless  to  enumerate  them  here.  No.  336  cases  is 
a  table  cover  composed  entirely  of  samples  of  the  antique  Ital- 
an  laces;  it  belongs  to  Mrs.  Bronson,  who  also  sends  a  complete 
collection  of  samples  of  the  ordinary  modern  laces  made  at  Pal- 
estrina and  the  other  islands  around  Venice. 

The  Ligurian,  or  Genoese,  guipures  have  four  entirely  distinct- 


OLD    AND    NEW     LA<  E    IN    ITALY.  1  $9 

Lve  characters,  forming  really  four  different  Laces.  The  first,  or 
Hyspano-moresque  and  Maltese  variety,  has  been  treated  ol  with 
the  Gothic  laces,  and  we  have  also  examined  the  second,  consist- 
ing of  the  vermicelli   lace  from   Rapallo  and  Santa  Margherita. 

A  third  is  identical  with  Milanese  guipure  (sec  samples  Nos 
123,  125,  141,  151,  201,  $JJ  on  the  screen,  and  Nos.  370,  374,  39O, 
392,  in  the  cases).  The  fourth  is  different  from  all  the  other  vari- 
eties of  lace  and  is  called  "fugio"  (/.  e.,  I  fly),  as  it  is  very  sofl 
and  air)-.  It  is  an  adaptation  of  a  guipure,  consisting  of  broad 
ribbons  of  weaving,  with  open-work  holes  introduced  as  varia- 
tions held  together  by  a  very  few  fine  bars,  the  arabesques  being 
combined  in  such  a  manner  as  to  touch  frequently  and  to  obvi- 
ate the  need  of  extraneous  supports  (see  No.  333  screen).  The 
Countess  Pigrone  Gambaro,  of  Genoa,  semis  two  beautiful 
flounces  (Nos.  246  and  250  cases)  of  this  lace.  No.  40S  is  a 
flounce  of  the  same,  as  is  also  No.  496,  and  many  other  examples 
which  are  to  be  found  in  the  cases. 

With  the  exception  of  the  blondes  we  have  now  passed  in 
review  all  the  laces  of  Italy.  Those  soft,  alluring,  glistening, 
clinging  tissues,  ever  beloved  by  the  daughters  of  Andalusia,  who 
remained  faithful  to  them  when  the  fickle  fashions  of  France, 
which  had  created  them  in  the  seventeenth  century,  abandoned 
them  entirely  in  the  eighteenth,  so  that  the  world  forgot  their 
origin,  and  when  these  laces  reappeared  they  became  known  by 
the  name  of  the  country  of  their  adoption  as  Spanish  blondes, 
which  they  have  retained,  although  now  principally  manufactured 
in  France  and  Italy. 

The  white  and  colored  blondes,  with  metal  introduced  of  the 
quality  generally  encountered,  lack  that  softness  of  material  and 
grace  of  design  combined  with  durability,  which  are  the  chief 
attractions  of  lace.  (As  an  illustration  of  this  see  Nos.  444,  446 
and  590  cases.)  But  some  of  these  hybrid  laces  compensate  by 
their  splendor  for  the  defects  of  their  less  artistic  sisters.  Of 
these  Lady  Layard  exhibits  the  following  superb  collection, 
placed  together  in  the  cases,  which  she  made  during  her  sojourn 
in  Spain: 

No.  346  a  and  b  cases   is  a  piece  of  antique  blonde  and  with    it 


140  OLD    AND    NEW    LACE    IN    ITALY. 

is  placed  a  modern  copy  of  it,  made  as  are  all  the  following  copies 
of  other  s.lk  laces  by  Victoria  Tranquilla,  of  Venice. 

No.  348  is  the  most  beautiful  combination  of  white  silk  and  sil- 
ver which  could  possibly  be  made,  and  consists  of  a  broad  scarf  of 
artistic  design  in  blonde  lace. 

No.  350  cases  is  a  rose  blonde  trimming  in  white  and  silver. 

No.  352  cases  is  a  blonde  lace  scarf  worked  in  white  and  silver 
in  a  design  of  the  rose,  shamrock  and  thistle,  which  form  the 
emblems  of  Great  Britain. 

No.  354  cases  is  another  blonde  lace  scarf  made  in  white  silk 
and  gold  thread  with  a  design  of  flowers,  grasses  and  tassels. 

No.  356  cases  is  a  blonde  lace  bertha  in  white  silk  and  silver 
thread. 

No.  358  cases  is  a  white  and  silver  blonde  trimming.  Other 
ladies  exhibit  blondes  composed  entirely  of  white  silk,  which  were 
the  rage  in  Italy  under  the  empire. 

No.  582  cases  is  an  entire  empire  costume,  including  a  man- 
tilla composed  of  this  quality  of  lace.  It  belongs  to  the  Countess 
Grabinska  of  Bologna. 

No.  584  cases  is  another  costume  of  the  same  lace  which  was 
worn  by  Princess  Maria  Malvezzi  Hercolani,  Lady  of  The  Croce 
Stella'a,  and  Lady  in  Waiting  at  the  Vice  Regal  Court  of  Prince 
Eugene  Beauharnais  in   Milan. 

Nos.  586  and  590  cases  are  flounces  of  white  silk  Blonde  lace 
worked  with  a  curious  honey-combed  ground,  through  which  a 
coarser  silk  passes.  These  soft  silk  blondes,  with  their  supple 
folds  and  great  splashes  of  reflected  light,  have  a  certain  attrac- 
tion, and  in  any  case  the  Italians  owe  them  a  deep  debt  of  grati- 
tude, for  they  alone  carried  the  traditions  of  lace-making  among 
the  Venetian,  Ligurian  and  Cantuese  women  across  the  sad  years 
of  overwhelming  taxation  and  foreign  oppression  which  for  Italy 
composed  the  first  half  of  the  nineteenth  century.  These  Italian 
blondes  of  inferior  quality  kept  the  bobbins  flying,  and  though 
there  was  no  demand  for  new  point  laces,  the  mending  of  the 
antique  ones  belonging  to  the  Cardinals  and  churches  kept  the 
needle  plying  according  to  the  traditions  of  the  past,  and  that 
sufficed  as  a  foundation  for  the  intelligent  revival  which  began  on 


OLD  ASP  NEW  LACE  IN  ITALY.  1 4 1 

the  Ligurian  coast  about  1848  with  the  production  of  a  pretty  lace 
resembling  Lille  and  Mecklin  lace,  which  was  well  suited  to  the 
style  of  costume  then  worn.  (See  the  pieces  Nos.  280,412,  422 
in  the  cases,  432,  a  cape  and  No.  516,  a  flounce,  belonging  to  the 
Marchesa  Cavriani). 

When    the    fashion    changed   about  Genoa  and  at  Cantu,  the 
lace-makers  began   copying  the  white  and  black  Brussels  laces, 
of    which    No.   254    is    the   first    piece   of   this   quality   made    at 
Santa   Marguerita,    Liguria,    in    1868,   for  the   Countess  Pignone 
Gambera  from  a  design  she  loaned  the  workwomen.     These  laces 
required  great  exactness   of  execution  and  re-developed  the  in- 
telligence  and  ability   of  the  workwomen,  so  that  if  the  demand 
for  Italian  lace  should  increase  in  proportion  to  the  cleverness  of 
the   lace-makers   and  the   good  will   and  necessity  of  the  poorer 
classes,  Italy  is  prepared  to  become  in  the  twentieth  century  what 
she  was  in  the  sixteenth — the  guiding  genius  of  good  taste  in  this 
art  and  the  purveyor  of  the  most  truly  beautiful  laces  sold  on  the 
markets  of  Europe.     For  though  greater  regularity  may  be  found 
in  the  coarse  laces  of  other  countries  than  exists  in  those  of  Italy, 
even  the  most  ordinary  of  her  bobbin  laces,  if  only  the  designers 
be  allowed  to  follow  the  old  traditions,  possesses  in  company  with 
the  unrivaled  needle  laces  the  quality  of  true  artistic  sentiment, 
which   gives  them   the   prestige  of  originality,  for  they  are  not 
modern  lace.     This   term  is  distinguished  from  that  of  ciiitiquc  lace 
being    simply  synonymous     with    mechanical  perfection  and    a 
strict  imitation  of  natural  effects  not  applicable  to  this   art.     The 
finest  modern  hand-made  lace  is  composed  of  perfectly  even  ma- 
chine  spun    silk,    thread    or    cotton,   dyed    a  beautiful  black,  or 
bleached    to   a  dead  white,  or  colored  a  brilliant  yellow  creme, 
worked   with   wonderful    manual   dexterity   in    nicely  shaded  de- 
signs copied   from  drawings  of  real  birds,  butterflies,  flowers  and 
fruits,  interspersed  with  meaningless  scroll  work  or  devices  quite 
as  applicable  to  cast  iron,  which  are  vulgar  and  tawdry  in  effect 
even  on  cafe  pavilions;  and  how  much  more  inappropriate  to  so 
delicate  a  fabric.     The  component  parts  of  this  quality  of  lace  are 
all  w  orked  separately,  one  woman  making  the  cast-iron  devices,  an- 
other all  the  roses,  another  the  butterflies,  etc.,  so  as  to  obtain  great 


142  OLD  AND  NEW  LACE  IN  ITALY. 

individual  perfection  at  a  sacrifice  of  artistic  completeness;  for  no 
two  human  beings  can  execute  work  exactly  similar,  and  the  dif- 
ference between  the  execution  :of  different  parts  is  easily  de- 
tected by  the  expert.  These  pieces  are  then  united  with  perfect 
exactness,  placed  upon  a  machine  net  or  needle-made  ground  and 
carefully  pressed  out,  producing  a  quality  of  work  which  has  no 
individuality  or  artistic  imprint  as  had  the  antique  laces,  and  could 
be  substituted  by  the  productions  of  machinery;  and  but  for  a 
lack  of  durability  in  these  latter,  no  one  but  the  starving  lace- 
makers  deprived  of  the  means  of  earning  a  livelihood  would  be 
the  loser. 

As  will  be  seen  from  the  reproductions  of  old  designs  exhib- 
ited in  the  Italian  section,  both  in  the  Woman's  Building  and  in  the 
Palace  of  Liberal  Arts,  the  Italian  lace-makers  have  an  inde- 
structible sentiment  of  art  and  are  capable  of  producing  really 
antique  lace  with  all  its  inimitable  forms  and  rich  soft  tones, 
with  the  advantage  of  strong,  new  material  and  an  unlimited 
supply,  productive  of  a  consequently  reasonable  price  well  suited 
to  the  present  requirements  of  artistic  homes.  But,  alas!  side  by 
side  with  the  enchanting  evidences  of  what  can  be  done  with  pro- 
perly trained  artists  are  placed  pieces  of  laces  which  prove  the 
lack  of  intelligent  guidance  and  the  ignorance  of  the  poor  neglected 
workwomen  who  toil  unceasingly  at  starvation  wages  exe- 
cuting designs  they  cannot  understand,  striving  to  follow  foreign 
fashions  which  are  already  extinct,  and  to  ape  the  ever-changing 
productions  of  great  factories  in  flimsy  imitations  copied  with 
defective,  puerile  drawing,  instead  of  reproducing  the  lace  found 
on  their  own  old  household  linen,  or  that  which  they  kneel  before 
each  Sunday  in  church,  or  which  is  brought  to  them  by  their 
priest  to  be  mended,  and  which  tradesmen  buy  up  at  any  price  to 
sell  again  in  countries  where  it  is  appreciated  and  sought  after  with 
eagerness,  Until  now  the  artisans  have  neglected  their  oppor- 
tunities as  they  have  been  neglected  by  those  who  should  have 
guided  them;  but  in  the  past  twenty-five  years  a  new  era  has 
been  initiated  for  the  home  and  art  life  of  the  lower  classes,  just 
as  it  has  begun  for  the  entire  nation  in  the  realization  of  its  as- 
pirations toward   liberty  and   unity.     In   each  great  city  and  in- 


OLD    WD    XI. \\     LACE    IN    II  ALY.  I  |  ] 

d  List  rial  center,  schools  for  artist  ic  and  manual  training  have  been 
opened  side  by  side,  or  in  connection  with  the  public  schools; 
and  in  those  dedicated  to  the  education  of  the  girls,  not  only  all  the 
household  industries  and  usual  professions  but  decorative  drawing 
and  lace-making  are  taught,  and  even  in  small,  out  of  the  way  vil- 
lages in  the  more  advanced  and  prosperous  provinces  industrial 
night  schools  are  springing  up  where  higher  instruction  in  agricul- 
tural theories  practically  illustrated  and  science  applied  to  industry 
are  gratuitously  taught,  so  that  the  village- artisan  and  the  poorest 
peasant  may  alike  learn  to  improve  their  methods  of  working, 
while  their  wives  and  daughters  are  taught  the  simple  laws  by 
which  the  sanitation  and  economical  administration  of  their  homes 
may  be  assured.  A  sunny  day  is  indeed  dawning  for  all  the  in- 
dustries of  Italy;  the  morning  glow  has  already  risen  above  the 
Alps  and  streamed  across  the  land,  and  will  be  found  reflected 
from  the  objects  described  in  the  following  pages,  and  the  bright 
day  star  which  has  long  ridden  high  in  the  heavens,  predicting 
the  sunny  future  to  the  lace-makers,  has  been  the  far-famed, 
co-operative  school  of  Burano. 


&k 


144  OLD  AND  NEW  LACE  IN  ITALY. 


PART  V. 


The  Modern  Lace. 

(Its  Artificers  and  Framing.) 

The  Italian  section  containing  the  historical  and  modern  lace 
herein  described  is  situated  near  the  southwestern  entrance  to 
the  Woman's  Building,  at  the  World's  Columbian  Exposition, 
held  at  Chicago  in  1893.  All  the  great  palaces  of  which  it  is 
composed  are  designed  in  the  style  of  the  Renaissance,  in  honor 
of  the  Italian  explorer,  the  fourth  centenary  of  whose  discovery 
of  two  continents  this  vast  International  Fair  has  been  organized 
to  commemorate,  and  the  Italian  directresses  considered  it  ap- 
propriate to  furnish  their  small  section  (which  is  entirely  occu- 
pied by  the  lace  exhibit)  in  the  prevailing  style,  and  it  therefore 
represents  an  Italian  sala,  or  salone,  of  the  sixteenth  century, 
the  cases  destined  for  the  rococo  laces  alone  having  been  made 
to  suit  their  contents.  In  Italy  women  do  not  carve  furniture, 
and  the  man  who  seconded  the  ladies  and  has  furnished  so 
beautiful  a  framing  for  the  art  treasures  sent  across  the  seas,  is 
Cavaliere  Valentino  Panciero  Besarel,  of  Venice.  He  is  an  artist 
of  a  type  which  belongs  to  the  same  period  as  the  designs  he 
creates. 

The  Italian  Renaissance  is  bred  in  his  very  bones.  He  is  the 
son  of  a  carpenter  who  was  also  a  wood-carver  and  a  genius,  and 
who  lived  up  to  the  traditions  of  Venetian  art,  although  his  home 
was  situated  in  the  remote  village  of  Zoldo,  among  the  first  spurs 
of  the  Dolomiles,  those  glorious  Italian  Alps  which  have  ever 
been  fruitful  in  artists.  Here  Panciero  Besarel  was  born,  and 
from  his  childhood  determined  not  to  abandon  the  trade  of  his 
father  which  was  inherited  from  a  long  line  of  honest  ancestors, 
but  to  climb   the   heights  of  art,  ever  faithfully  following  in  the 


OLD    AND    NEW    LACE    IX    ITALY.  145 

footsteps  of  Andrea  Brustolon,  the  greatest  of  Venetian  wood- 
carvers.  Like  man)'  an  American  millionaire,  like  all  the  besl 
artists  of  the  sixteenth  century,  he  began  his  life  working  at  tin- 
hardest  and  most  menial  accessories  of  his  trade,  struggling  with 
every  nerve  to  obtain  the  pittance  which  would  suffice  to  main- 
tain him  whilst  he  should  study  at  the  School  of  Design  in  Venice, 
so  as  to  change  his  dreams  and  his  aspirations  into  an  art;  and 
like  them  he  succeeded.  But  the  love  of  the  beautiful  and  the 
good,  the  striving  forever  after  an  unattainable  ideal,  are  sure  to 
breed  the  sentiment  of  patriotism,  which  is  so  often  the  fore-run- 
ner of  persecution,  and  even  martyrdom,  and  this  above  all  in 
Italy,  the  country  whose  atmosphere  is  so  saturated  with  beauty, 
poetry  and  art,  that  strangers  love  to  linger  there  ami  ewer  return, 
trying  to  call  the  land  their  own,  while  liberty  and  a  desire  for  a 
united  country  is  the  dominant  passion  of  every  true  Italian 
heart,  and  has  inspired  all  the  rebellions  against  foreign  usurpa- 
tion, which  have  at  last  been  crowned  with  merited  victor)'. 

The  young  Besarel  was  like  other  geniuses,  and  so  when  des- 
potic Austria,  who  had  purchased  the  dominion  over  Venice  with 
money  levied  by  heavy  taxation  laid  upon  her  citizens,  sought  to 
lure  the  young  Besarel  with  offers  of  high  honors  and  rich  emol- 
uments at  Vienna,  he  turned  a  deaf  ear,  and  sent  his  work  to  the 
Exhibition  of  Florence,  where  his  faithfulness  and  talent  were 
rewarded  by  a  medal  and  sales  to  the  amount  of  6,000  francs, 
which  procured  him  only  fresh  persecution,  as  he  devoted  the 
entire  sum  to  assisting  his  unhappy  countrymen  in  emigrating 
from  under  the  foreign  rule.  In  1873,  however,  after  the  freedom 
of  Venice,  well-merited  success  at  last  crowned  his  effort,  for  his 
well-established  reputation  obtained  for  him  a  great  order  from 
the  Prince  of  Wales;  and  since  that  period  he  has  received  gold 
medals  at  all  the  expositions  in  which  he  has  taken  part  and 
been  knighted,  and  the  recipient  of  flattering  honors  from  Austria, 
England  and  Italy,  and  from  the  French  Republic.  He  has 
always  remained  the  same  simple  child  of  nature  and  of  art, 
although  his  curly  locks  have  been  bleached  by  time  and  by  a 
terrible  accident  which  deprived  him  of  part  of  his  right  hand, 
which  for  all  that  "has  not  forgot  its  cunning."     In  the  spacious 

10 


I46  OLD    AND    NEW    LACE    IN    ITALY. 

salons  of  this  palace  on  the  Grand  Canal,  which  are  crowded  with 
the  children  of  his  hand  and  imagination,  he  is  visited  yearly  by 
all  royalty  embassadors,  and  the  highest  in  Italy;  and  even  Her 
Majesty,  the  Queen,  orders  of  him  most  of  the  artistic  furniture 
and  libelot  with  which  she  loves  to  surround  herself,  and  never 
stays  in  Venice  without  visiting  his  studio.  The  lady  patronesses 
who  know  him  look  upon  him  as  a  friend,  and  therefore  naturally 
turned  to  him  in  getting  up  their  exhibition,  as  to  the  one  who 
would  do  honor  to  the  faith  reposed  in  his  generosity  and  his 
good  taste.  His  pretty  daughter  trips  about  the  place  with  all 
the  charm  of  an  old-time  Venetian  maiden,  and  her  smile  is  as 
attractive  as  that  of  the  delicious  little  cupids  she  sculptures,  for 
this  demure  young  lady,  who  cannot  count  twenty  summers,  has 
inherited  her  father's  talent,  and  it  is  to  her  clever  hands  we  owe 
the  modeling  of  the  lace-maker,  who  sits  so  peacefully  beneath 
the  great  crucifix  carved  by  the  cavaliere,  and  is  dressed  com- 
pletely in  clothes  the  material  of  which  was  grown,  spun,  woven 
and  sewn  by  the  industrious  peasant  women  of  Fruili. 

The  flax  used  for  the  underclothes  worn  by  this  lay  figure  was  cultivated  and  spun  by 
Maria  Paggarino,  aged  twenty,  of  the  village  of  Cereseto,  and  cost  ten  cents.  The  lace  was 
made  at  the  school  of  Fagania  by  a  girl  thirteen  years  of  age,  named  Giudita  Lestani,  after 
learning  six  months,  and  cost  twenty  cents.  The  dress  is  composed  of  silk  refuse  plucked  from 
the  branches  on  which  the  cocoons  have  been  spun  by  the  silk  worms  cultivated  at  Brazza,  and 
is  used  to  make  home-spun  hunting  suits  and  most  durable  garments  by  the  peasants.  The 
carding,  spinning,  dyeing  and  sewing  of  the  dress  and  furnishing  of  the  necessary  adjuncts 
cost  $3.20,  and  is  all  the  work  of  Arenellina  Zanor,  aged  about  twenty-three,  who  also  wove  the 
underskirt  and  chemise,  which  with  the  material  cost  in  all  $1.80,  the  cutting  out  and  sewing 
which  was  done  by  Amelia  Cervezzo,  of  Fagagna,  for  thirty-five  cents.  Amelia  Cervezzo  also 
made  the  picturesque  rag  and  cord  slippers  worn  by  the  peasants  when  working  in  their  houses, 
the  entire  material  and  execution  of  which  costs  thirty  cents. 

The  woolen  stockings  are  made  from  the  wool  of  sheep,  belonging  to  t he  Michelet  family 
of  Fagagna,  which  was  carded,  spun,  dyed  and  knit  into  stockings  by  Angela  Michelet,  aged 
seventeen,  who  also  made  the  garters  customary  in  her  village,  costing  fifty  cents.  The  wooden 
shoes  called  zoccoli  are  hand-made  by  the  men  of  the  family,  and  those  exhibited  were  executed 
bj  Gruiseppe  Peris  of  Fagagna  for  thirty  cents,  the  work  in  carving  the  wood  costing  ten  cents 
and  the  work  in  leather  twenty  cents.  The  peasants  always  buy  their  aprons  and  kerchiefs 
Unless  they  make  them  in  crochet  work,  and  these  form  the  great  objects  of  luxury  in  their 
costume,  costing  in  all  when  of  the  quality  which  is  exhibited  about  $3.00 :  the  lace  on  t lie 
apron  is  made  by  Ernesto  Schirati,  of  Fagagna,  aged  thirteen,  and  cost  sixty  cents.  Bo  that 
the  entire  Sunday  outfit  of  a  well-to-do  peasant  amounts  to  the  value  of  about  eleven  dollars 
made  in  the  most  durable  of  materials,  but  to  them  it  costs  much  less,  as  the  greater  part  of  it 
is  made  of  unsalable  materials  prepared  at  home  at  odd  moments.  The  lace  over  which  the 
figure  is  represented  as  busied  was  mounted  on  the  pillow  and  made  by  the  peasant  girl,  Italia 
Canciani,  agedfourteen,  after  ten  months'  instruction  in  the  school  of  Brazza  ;  and  everything 
connected  with  the  figure  has  been  produced  by  peasants  whose  families  frequent  this  Bchool 
or  the  branches  of  it  which  have  been  established  in  the  neighboring  villages. 


OLD    AND     NEW     LACE     IN     NAI.\  .  I  \"J 

Casa  Besarel  forms  a  charming  household,  and  while  I  write, 
the  words  of  a  cultured  American  lady  ring  in  my  memory  as  she 

descended  the  worn  marble  steps  and  entered  her  gondola,  which 
floated  idly  before  them  on  the  lazy  blue  waters  of  the  Grand 
Canal. 

"Thank  you;  you  have  not  only  shown  me  the  most  artistic 
carving  I  have  ever  seen,  but  you  have  led  me  back  into  the 
Venice  of  the  middle  ages.  I  felt  it  almost  sacrilege  to  take  away 
anything  from  where  it  stood,  for  all  seemed  part  of  a  picture  and 
so  imsJiopliker  Alas,  the  only  fault  of  Besarel  is  that  he  is  an 
artist  and  "unshoplike"  and  will  leave  his  children  richer  in 
honors  than  money,  forming  a  great  contrast  with  many  of  the 
modern  "Merchants  of  Venice,"  who  go  so  far  in  their  chase  for 
foreign  gold  as  to  pay  the  gondoliers,  couriers  and  guides,  who 
•conduct  the  wealthy  strangers  to  their  doors. 

Signorina  Besarel  is  not  the  only  young  Italian  girl  who  has 
contributed  her  work  to  grace  our  exhibit.  Signorina  Costa  of 
Rome,  the  daughter  of  the  artist  whose  wife  is  one  of  the 
lady  patronesses,  has  passed  many  busy  hours  over  the  painting  in 
Italian  "tempera"  of  the  Renaissance,  garland  of  flowers  which 
forms  the  frieze  about  the  sala,  while  Signorina  Celotti  of  Udine 
executed  in  old  tapestry  painting  the  Album  destined  to  contain 
the  samples  of  laces  made  at  the  Brazza  lace  school,  for  which 
shehas  a  kindly  affection;  and  as  if  goodness  and  beauty  were 
synonymous,  all  three  of  these  industrious  girls  are  so  pretty  that 
it  is  only  a  pity  their  clever  work  cannot  be  rendered  still  more 
attractive  by  their  photographs. 

The  green  silk,  the  soft  lustre  of  which  'adds  beauty  to  the 
laces  within  the  antique  carved  furniture  and  causes  those  of  Her 
Majesty  to  appear  like  white  caps  of  fluffy  foam  upon  the  beauti- 
fully tinted  waves  of  the  Mediterranean,  was  spun,  dyed  and 
woven  by  women,  in  the  silk  and  damask  manufactory  of  Signor 
Domenico  Reiser  e  Figlio,  which  was  founded  in  [848  in  Udine, 
who  also  exhibits  an  album  containing  a  few  samples  of  the  rich 
'damasks  and  velvets  here  produced,  which  are  exact  reproduc- 
tions of  the  celebrated  antique  Venetian  silks,  and  are  sold  as 
thev  come  from  the  loom,  without   any  preparatory  dressing  and 


I48     .  OLD  AND  NEW  LACE  IN  ITALY. 

therefore  quite  indestructible  like  those  which  have  survived  the 
wear  of  centuries  to  adorn  our  drawing-rooms. 

The  gracefully  wrought  iron  gate,  transparent  as  a  curtain  in 
black  guipure,  through  which  the  visitor  gains  admittance  to  the 
Italian  section,  as  well  as  the  album  full  of  beautiful  designs  for 
antique  wrought  iron  objects  and  for  those  made  in  chiselled  metal, 
is  the  handiwork  of  Antonio  Lora  of  Trissino,  another  typical 
Italian  artist.  His  father  was  a  carrier  between  his  native  village 
and  Vincenza,  and  apprenticed  his  son  at  eighteen  years  to  a 
wood-carver  established  in  that  city,  whence  the  young  man  soon 
moved  to  Verona  and  finally,  attracted  by  its  art  traditions,  to 
Venice,  where  he  maintained  himself  for  twelve  years  by  hard 
work  whilst  he  studied  design  at  the  Academy  and  perfected 
himself  in  "niello"  (one  metal  incrusted  in  another)  and  the  lost 
art  of  casting  a  "cire  perdue,"  so  that  Guggenheim  Richetti  and 
all  the  merchants  of  antiquities  found  a  constant  use  for  his 
talent. 

During  this  time  he  also  modeled  the  bronze  medallion, 
erected  at  Venice  to  the  memory  of  Sirtori,  one  of  Garibaldi's 
most  celebrated  aides-de-camp,  who  was  a  native  of  that  city,  and 
his  works  carried  off  prizes  at  the  universal  exhibitions  of  Vienna, 
London,  etc.,  as  well  as  in  the  national  expositions. 

The  beautiful  gates  in  wrought  iron  of  the  museum  at  Turin 
are  his  handiwork,  as  well  as  others  in  London,  Odessa,  Frank- 
fort, Berlin  and  even  in  the  United  States  ;  and  for  an  amateur 
of  Paris  he  has  executed  a  perfect  copy  of  the  beautiful  grating 
which  surrounds  the  celebrated  monument  of  the  Scaligers  in 
Verona.  This  work  in  niello  is  equally  pure  in  conception  and 
beautiful  in  execution,  and  it  cannot  fail  to  prove  interesting  to 
whoever  visits  Vicenza  and  finds  attractions  on  studying  the  life 
of  the  middle  ages,  to  take  the  superb  road  out  across  the  laugh- 
ing plains  and  the  high  bridge  over  the  roaring  Agno  to  the  old 
fashioned  peasant  house,  with  its  big  courtyard  full  of  cackling 
hens,  surrounded  by  low,  long  rooms  out  of  which  the  family  has 
been  crowded  by  the  products  of  the  master's  art. 

Antonio  Lora,  in  metal  work,  like  Besarel  in  wood  carving,  is 
as  much  an  artist  of  the   Renaissance  as  were  the  great  examples 


OLD    AND    NEW    LACK    IN    ITALY.  I  4<J 

whose  work  they  seek  to  emulate,  and  both  belong  to  a  type 
which  has  survived  the  hurry  of  the  nineteenth  century  in  classi< 
Italy  alone;  and  to  stand  face  to  face  with  the  life  led  by  genius 
in  the  past,  one  need  only  seek  Besarel  among  his  pupils  on  the 
Grand  Canal  of  Venice,  or  Antonio  Lora  in  the  simple  smithy 
at  Trissino,  frowned  upon  by  the  bleak  ruined  castles  of  the 
proud  Montecchios  and  haughty  Capulets,  which  in  former  ages 
smiled  on  the  loves  of  Romeo  and  Juliet.  Here,  like  his  proto- 
type Vulcan,  this  master  of  the  anvil  limps  about  among  his 
workmen  helping  them  to  twist  the  glowing  iron-  into  artistic 
flowers  and  tendrils  and  the  exquisite  forms  of  lanterns,  gates  and 
balconies,  products  of  his  creative  genius  which  the  great  dealers 
in  bric-a-brac  sell  as  treasured  remains  of  old  Italian  art,  for  triple 
the  sum  paid  grudgingly  to  their  creator.  Above  the  courtyard 
and  behind  the  busy  forge  rises  a  hill  crowned  with  superb 
gardens,  terraces  and  greenhouses,  in  the  middle  of  which  stands 
the  beautiful  castle  of  Trissino,  which  forms  the  summer  studio 
of  Countess  Loredano  di  Porto,  the  woman  most  distinguished  in 
photography  in  Italy,  whose  works  are  known  far  and  wide  for 
their  wonderful  artistic  grouping  and  perfect  execution,  and  have 
won  her  the  gold  medal  at  the  International  Exhibition  of  pho- 
tography at  London  and  elsewhere.  She  exhibits  (42)  groups 
posed  to  form  genre  pictures,  which  speak  for  themselves;  and 
when  we  offer  the  best  our  land  produces;  can  our  visitors  com- 
plain of  the  restrictions  which  limited  space  has  caused  us  to 
place  on  the  quantity  of  this  branch  of  woman's  work  to  be  sent 
to  America?  The  mother  of  this  gifted  lady,  the  Countess 
Bonin,  another  of  our  Lady  Patronesses  who  lives  on  the  oppo- 
site side  of  Vicenza,  protects  an  industry  which  saves  from  want 
the  unoccupied  women  of  all  the  villages  of  the  "Seven  Com- 
munes," the  inhabitants  of  which  are  the  direct  descendants  of 
the  ferocious  Cinibians,  who  could  boast  of  having  routed  two 
great  armies  composed  of  the  flower  of  Roman  valor,  and  of 
having  yielded  at  last  to  the  effects  of  the  bad  climate,  not 
the  attacks  of  the  civilized  soldiers  who  killed  them  as  they 
struggled,  lashed  together  against  the  overwhelming  sunshine  on 
the    southern    slopes    of    the    Apennines.     This  lady  sends    two 


I5O  OLD  AND  NEW  LACE  IN  ITALY. 

albums  and  three  hats  made  of  plaited  straws  in  the  Commune 
of  Marostico  and  its  neighborhood,  where  all  the  women  and 
girls,  with  infinite  ingenuity  and  ceaseless  industry  although  poorly 
remunerated,  twirl  and  plait  straw  instead  of  flax  and  hemp  into, 
laces,  which  are  afterward  sewn  together,  forming  hats  or 
exported  to"  foreign  countries  where  they  are  much  prized  for 
their  lightness  and  solidity. 

Another  Italian  lady,  the  Marchesa  Negrotto  Passalacqua  of 
Genoa,  shows  that  she  has  inherited  the  talent  of  her  ancestresses. 
She  exhibits-  a  great  table  cover,  bed  quilt  and  the  front  of  a 
gown  worked  by  herself  alone,  in  unbleached  thread  in  the 
quality  of  lace  called  punto  tagliato  a  fagliame  before  which  all 
must  pause  in  admiration,  and  realize  that  if  the  poor  lace-makers 
were  only  guided  by  such  refined  and  artistic  talent  as  she 
possesses,  they  would  produce,  perforce,  superior  work,  and  that 
we  may  say  what  has  been  already  accomplished  in  this  line.  We 
will  turn  to  the  schools,  as  it  is  in  these  that  the  lace-makers  are 
trained  and  that  the  ladies  of  Italy  seek  to  improve  the  quality 
of  the  work  produced  by  cultivating  the  taste  and  ability  of  the 
young  girls.  These  institutions  are  divided  into  two  distinct 
classes;  i.  e.,  those  which  are  organized  as  co-operative  societies, 
for  which  the  pupils  are  permitted  to  continue  to  work  after  their 
training  has  finished,  and  in  which  they  enjoy  an  augmentation, 
or  suffer  a  reduction  in  the  price  paid  for  their  productions  as  the 
market  fluctuates  ;  or  else  the  merely  industrial  school,  which 
trains  the  pupils  for  a  limited  period,  selling  the  better  work 
produced  by  them  to  help  maintain  the  institution  and  provide 
instruction  for  as  many  girls  as  possible.  But  once  the  pupils 
have  left  these  schools,  they  are  forced  to  provide  personally  for 
the  sale  of  whatever  they  may  produce,  or  enter  the  private 
establishments  in  which  the  trade  they  have  learned  is  followed. 
We  will  begin  with  those  schools  founded  and  directed  by  the 
Lady  Patronesses,  because  the  most  important  exhibitor  is  the 
co-operative  institution  of  Burano,  which  sends  over  ten  thousand 
dollars'  worth  of  lace  to   Chicacro. 


OLD    AND    NEW    LACE    IN    I  I  A I  Y,  I  ;  I 

SCHOOL  OF  BURANO. 

The  four  hundred  industrious  and  merry  girls  whose  hands 
have  gaily  worked  these  beautiful  needle  laces  while  they  sang 
the  sweet  snatches  and  boat  songs  of  Venice,  are  now  sorrowful, 
and  the  whole  school  mourns  in  silence  for  the  intelligent,  the 
good,  the  beautiful,  the  pious  Countess  Andriana  Marcello,  who 
for  years  has  been  its  guardian  angel  and  whose  last  work  for  them 
was  to  plan,  a  short  three  months  ago,  all  the  details  for  their 
share  in  this  wonderful  exhibition  at  Chicago.  The  golden  cord  ol 
her  sweet  life  has  been  snapped  and  she  has  been  prematurely  called 
to  enjoy  the  reward  of  a  life  spent  for  others.  The  echo  of  her 
funeral  dirge  has  scarcely  died  into  silence  and  the  ripples 
caused  by  the  passing  of  her  mourning  barge  across  the  laguna, 
which  for  so  many  years  she  followed  to  and  from  the  school  at 
Burano,  have  hardly  broken  upon  the  shore  of  that  desolate 
island.  The  emotion  of  one  who  for  the  past  six  months  has 
worked  daily,  guided  by  her  experience  and  noble  rectitude,  and 
who  in  turning  to  each  branch  of  this  exhibit  finds  proofs  of  her 
activity,  leaves  me  without  words  that  could  picture  our  sorrow; 
but  the  visitor  who  gazes  on  the  sweet  loveliness  of  Andriana 
Marcello,  contained  within  the  frame  of  simple  black  velvet 
which  is  placed  near  her  beloved  laces,  will  realize  all  that  Her 
Majesty  the  Queen,  the  committee  of  directresses,  the  school  of 
Burano  and  Italian  womanhood  have  lost  with  her. 

It  was  Paolo  Fambri  who  first  thought  of  raising  the  poor 
fisher  folk  of  Burano  out  of  the  abject  squalor  into  which,  through 
years  of  misery  they  had  slowly  sunk,  and  which  was  rendered 
deadly  by  the  fearful  winter  of  1872.  when  the  frozen  lagoons  pre- 
sented a  stony  breast,  on  which  they  beat  in  vain  for  bread.  lie 
first  tried  having  nets  made  in  large  quantities  for  exportation  as 
they  had  enough  of  these  already,  but  other  fishing  communities 
made  their  own,  and  so  his  kindly  heart  caused  him  to  divine  the 
talent  for  lace-making,  which  lingered  in  the  nature  of  the  people; 
and  seeking  out  old  Cencia  Scarparola,  he  found  in  her  the  em- 
bodiment of  the  tradition  and  he  decided  with  the  help  of  willing 
minds  and  hands  to  revive  the  art  for  which  the  island  was  once 
renowned. 


I52  OLD  AND  NEW  LACE  IN  ITALY. 

The  patricians  of  Venice  seconded  him  with  both  sympathy 
and  money,  and  among  them  he  chose  two  of  the  noblest  as 
of  the  most  beautiful,  both  since  ladies  of  the  queen,  both  patron- 
esses of  this  our  new  enterprise,  to  carry  across  the  seas  the 
work  of  these  girls  who  have  been  redeemed  from  a  life  of  misery 
by  their  own  efforts,  properly  directed  by  these  wise  protect- 
resses. 

The  princess  Maria  Giovanelli,  with  her  long  absences  from 
Venice,  could  not  carry  on  the  work  she  had  undertaken  with 
such  enthusiasm.  The  young  widowed  Countess  Andriana  Mar- 
cello  saw  in  it  the  realization  of  a  dream  long  cherished  by  her 
noble  husband,  and  threw  herself  heart  and  soul  into  the  work, 
which  she  carried  on  with  unabated  energy  for  twenty  years. 
God  has  blessed  her  faithfulness,  and  Burano  with'  is  six  thousand 
inhabitants  is  now  bright,  prosperous  and  contented,  and  has 
drowned  the  horrors  of  1872  in  the  tender  smile  of  its  foster  mother 
the  Countess  Andriana;  but  she  is  gone  forever,  and  it  depends  upon 
all  who  admire  noble,  untiring  devotion,  to  continue  the  work  which 
she  has  founded  and  organized  so  perfectly,  that  its  only  neces- 
sity is  a  steady  affluence  of  purchasers,  and  that  out  of  our  abun- 
dance we  buy  to  trim  our  gowns  the  delicate  work  of  these 
intelligently  guided  girls,  rather  than  less  artistic  or  machine 
made  lace,  which  last  but  for  a  season,  and  cannot  remain  with 
our  jewels  to  adorn  the  forms  of  our  descendants  in  the  happiest 
hours  of  their  lives. 

All  the  designs  of  Burano  lace  are  taken  from  the  best  antique 
models,  and  Her  Majesty,  who  as  Princess  Margherita  di  Savoia 
accepted  the  honorary  presidency  of  the  school,  has  allowed  the 
superb  crown  laces  to  be  copied  there  and  never  trusts  them  to 
other  hands  for  repairs.  For  this  reason  and  because  they  can 
bear  the  most  rigid  comparison,  these  laces  are  placed  near  those 
of  her  majesty,  and  each  one  copied  from  a  royal  lace  is  so 
marked.  The  beautiful  bridal  veil,  which  alone  we  have  space  to 
mention  here,  is  reproduced  from  the  historic  flounce  of  Argen- 
tan  given  by  Napoleon  I  to  Cardinal  Rets,  and  design  No.  5,  ac- 
cording to  the  numbering  in  their  price  list,  is  copied  from  the  royal 
piece  of  Rezzonica  lace  composed  of  Venetian  point,  which   has 


OLD    AND    NEW    LACE    IN    ITALY.  [53 

frequently  been  duplicated  by  order  of  crowned  heads  as  a  wed- 
ding present  to  present  to  royal  brides. 

SCHOOL  OF  COCCOLIA. 

Another  co-operative  school,  but  younger  and  much  smaller, 
was  founded  by  a  lad)'  patroness  the  Countess  Maria  Pasolini,  in 
1884,  at  Coccolia  on  her  vast  possessions  in  Romagna.  This  prop- 
erty is  situated  near  the  picturesque  historical  town  of  Ravenna, 
and  she  sends  a  collection  of  photographic  views  of  some  of  it-^ 
principal  points  of  interest.  It  is  here  that  lie  the  ashes  of  the 
immortal  Dante,  where  he  spent  man)' of  his  years  of  exile;  and  it 
was  here  that  in  his  footsteps  long  lingered  the  sweet  inspired  and 
discontented  Byron,  whose  happiest  hours  were  spent  in  his 
adored  and  adoring  Italy.  The  cultivation  of  the  fertile  plains 
forming  the  surrounding  province  of  Romagna,  of  which  the 
inhabitants  are  a  sturdy  and  independent  race,  is  conducted  on 
the  system  called  in  Italy  "mezzadria;"  that  is  to  say,  the  pro- 
prietor furnishes  the  houses  and  the  land,  the  peasant  dedicates 
himself  unpaid  to  the  cultivation  of  the  latter,  and  the  two  equally 
divide  the  profits.  The  population  increases  rapidly,  and  the 
superfluous  members  of  the  family  must  seek  occupation  by 
emigrating  to  some  new  farm,  which  is  constantly  being  formed 
by  the  detritus  of  the  rivers,  or  become  laborers.  The  men  have 
therefore  organized  in  co-operative  societies  which  undertake 
important  contracts  in  other  provinces  and  neighboring  nations, 
and  these  are  executed  with  rapidity  and  exactness,  to  the  com- 
plete satisfaction  of  those  who  employ  them,  and  the  mutual 
benefit  of  all  parties  concerned.  The  Countess  Pasolini,  who  is 
as  intelligent  and  active  as  she  is  charitable,  has  thoroughly 
studied  the  economic  questions  of  her  surroundings  aiuLJias  pub- 
lished the  result  of  her  observations  in  several  pamphlets,  which 
have  been  reprinted  in  the  first  periodicals  and  were  considered 
so  important  by  French  economists  as  to  deserve  translation, 
being  invaluable  and  uncqualed  authorities  for  consultation  on 
the  subject  of  which  they  treat.  The  Countess  in  following  these 
researches  observed  that  the  weak  point  of  the  whole  system, 
above  mentioned,  was  the  disoccupied  life  lead  by  the  women  ami 


154  OLD    AND    NEW    LACE    IN    ITALY. 

girls  belonging  to  the  families  of  the  laborers.  There  are  no  fac- 
tories around  Ravenna,  in  which  to  employ  superfluous  hands, 
and  there  is  no  economy  in  this  day  of  machine-made  stuffs  to  be 
found  in  home  spinning  and  weaving  unless  the  first  material  is 
produced  on  the  farm;  and  so  the  Countess  decided  on  founding 
a  lace  school  for  the  female  children  and  these  women,  permit- 
ting them  to  work  at  home  as  soon  as  they  became  proficient  in 
the  execution  of  the  finer  laces,  which  they  learn  to  make  with 
great  facility  as  they  share  the  artistic  temperament  of  the  whole 
Italian  race;  and  the  products  of  their  industry  copied  from 
antique  designs  are  worth)-  of  the  exquisite  velum  album,  filled 
with  rich  satin  leaves  on  which  they  have  been  placed  to  be  sent 
to  Chicago.  The  school  of  Coccolia  deserves  encouragement, 
and  besides  its  album  exhibits  all  too  few  pieces  of  its  beautiful 
work,  preferring  to  execute  the  complicated  designs  for  which  it 
is  deservedly  known  in  filling  orders  to  running  the  risk  of  having 
expensive  laces  left  long  unsold. 

SCHOOL  OF   BRAZZA. 

A  still  younger  school  is  that  under  my  direction  founded  at 
Brazza,  near  Udine,  Friuli,  on  September  8,  1891,  at  a  small  show 
of  peasant  products  and  industries  held  at  our  country  home  by 
the  seven  communes  which  surround  it,  with  the  object  of  devel- 
oping the  small  household  industries  and  thus  forming  a  means 
of  accessory  occupation  and  emolument  for  the  large  peasant 
families  during  the  long  winters  when  the  ground  in  this  part  of 
the  country  is  frozen  or  snowbound.  Six  girls,  of  which  four  re- 
main among  the  best  workers  of  the  school,  had  been  personally 
instructed  by  me  for  only  ten  days  in  the  rudiments  of  the  art 
and  did  such  justice  to  their  intelligent  natures  and  powers  of 
concentration  whilst  working  before  the  visitors  the  day  of  the 
fair,  that  the  vast  public  remained  enthralled  and  could  not  be 
persuaded  to  move  on,  and  the  jury  of  the  exhibition  decided 
that  this  handicraft  was  adapted  to  the  requirements  of  this  part 
of  the  province.  Since  then  three  schools  have  been  opened  in 
quick  succession,  forming  the  clover  leaf  chosen  as  trade  mark  for 
products  and  emblem  of  these  modest   institutions,   and  a   fourth 


OLD  AND  NEW  LACK  IN  ITALY.  l$$ 

small  leaf  is  budding  which  promises  to  bring  the  proverbial 
good  luck  if  only  the  children  continue  docile  and  industrious, 
and  the  public  lenient  to  their  detects.  The  oldest  of  the  baby 
schools  has  scarcely  doffed  its  swaddling  clothes,  though  a  brave 
ami  sturdy  little  one,  for  on  its  first  birthday  the  precocious  infant 
with  its  younger  sisters  had  a  hundred  pairs  of  hands  at  work- 
twirling  the  bobbins  for  broad  and  narrow  lace>  at  tin-  big  peasant 
show  at  Fagagna  on  September  8,  1892,  and  therefore  received 
a  diploma  for  cleverness  and  good  conduct,  while  many  of  the 
busy  little  hands  closed  over  small  pecuniar)-  prizes  which  gladden 
the  hearts  of  proud  parents  and  teachers.  In  fact,  the  infant 
develops  with  such  unheard  of  rapidity  and  consumes  such  large 
quantities  of  pins,  thread  and  bobbins,  upon  which  indigestible 
articles  it  thrives,  that  it  quite  frightens  its  mother,  who  must  ap- 
peal to  all  the  friends  of  honesty  and  industry  to  buy  the  ever 
increasing  products  so  that  a  lack  of  food  and  occupation  may 
not  stunt  the  child  in  its  happy  growth.  The  girls  who  attend 
the  home  school  and  its  branches  vary  in  age  trom  seven  to  twenty 
and  when  they  are  seen  twirling  the  bobbins  and  merrily  singing 
in  chorus  the  musical  catches  of  Fruili,  or  seated  under  the  great 
chestnut  trees  of  the  park  eating  their  frugal  meal  which  they 
bring  with  them  in  neat  baskets,  or  romping  across  the  lawns,  the 
heart  involuntarily  exclaims,  "  God  bless  them  !  "  and  send  un- 
ceasing work  to  their  willing  hands  and  those  of  their  children 
and  children's  children  that  they  may  never  be  tempted  to  raise 
them  for  wrongdoing  because  of  the  lack  of  enforced  idleness, 
or  dire  necessity.  -Some  of  these  girls  are  orphans  or  lame,  or 
deformed,  or  very  miserable,  and  on  the  slender  threads  wound 
about  their  bobbins  hangs  their  whole  means  of  honest  existence. 
The  Brazza  schools  are  conducted  on  the  principle  of  a  sweep- 
stakes, each  one  being  rewarded  according  to  her  deserts,  and 
the  work  is  paid  for  by  the  piece,  the  prices  fluctuating  accord^ 
ing  to  the  amount  that  can  be  realized  by  the  sale  of  the  lace 
produced,  the  standard  for  prices  being  taken  from  that  of  the 
wholesale  Paris  market,  new  and  original  designs  commanding 
naturally  a  higher  price  than  those  more  hackneyed.  At  the  end 
of  the  year,   prizes  are   distributed  to   the  most   regular,  best    and 


15^  OLD    AND    NEW    LACE    IN    ITALY. 

cleverest  workers  of  each  separate  school  and  a  grand  prize  for 
the  first  among  all  the  schools;  but  like  in  a  race  among  young 
colts,  the  last  sometimes  carries  off  the  honors,  as  she  suddenly 
blooms  out  into  an  artist  of  the  bobbin,  to  the  joy  and  surprise 
of  every  one,  and  most  of  all  of  herself.  The  schools  of  Brazza 
exhibit  the  large  album  painted  by  Miss  Celotte  full  of  samples 
of  the  girls  '  laces  and  a  quantity  of  their  work  mounted  into  ob- 
jects for  household  use  either  by  the  girls  themselves  or  by  their 
seamstress  sisters,  who  are  peasants  also  and  trained  for  the  pur- 
pose; pleading  the  excuse  of  a  parent's  loquacity,  let  us  pass  onto 
the  enumeration  of  the  charitable  institutions  and  industrial 
schools,  which  also  send  exhibits. 

INSTITUTION  OF  THE  S.  S.  ECCE  HOMO,  NAPLES. 
First  among  them  ranks  the  Institution  of  the  S.  S.  Ecce 
Homo  at  Naples,  not  only  for  its  size  but  because  several  of  our 
Lady  Patronesses  are  on  its  Board  of  Direction.  This  institu- 
tion, which  had  lingered  along  as  a  sleepy  refuge  for  indigent 
old  women  and  crippled  children,  sprang  into  glorious  activity 
during  the  terrible  cholera  scourge  of  1885,  which  swept  away  all 
the  grown  people  of  innumerable  poor  Neapolitan  families  and 
left  hundreds  of  miserable  ragged  orphans  to  wander  starving 
about  the  streets.  Daily  the  institution,  Christ-like  in  action  as 
in  name,  gathered  scores  of  these  hungry  little  innocents  under 
its  fondling  care,  and  the  King,  the  government,  and  the  city 
helped  in  the  good  work  so  that  to-day  it  contains  350  inmates 
and  instructs  280  day  scholars,  many  of  whom  belong  to  the  most 
wretched  classes,  who  send  their  daughters  to  learn  different 
trades  suited  to  impecunious  women  in  its  great  industrial  school- 
rooms often  tempted  solely  by  the  thought  of  the  bodily  strength- 
ening to  be  obtained  from  its  nourishing  soups  which  are  fur- 
nished at  midday  to  all  the  scholars.  Here  are  made  all  kinds 
of  laces  copied,  the  antique  qualities  of  Valenciennes,  Venetian 
point,  Cardiglia,  Reticella,  Torchon,  Neapolitan,  Abruzzi  and 
Milan  point  fugio,  and  added  to  this  a  wonderful  new  lace  evolved 
while  copying  the  exquisite  Gothic  designs  published  by  Padre 
Pissicelli  in  the  Paleographia  of  Monte  Cassino,  a  book  which  is 
exhibited  in  our  small  collection  of  designs  for  lace. 


OLD  AND  NEW  LACE  IN  ITALY.  1:7 

SIGNORA  ENRICA  FRASCHETT1. 

( )ther  beautiful  reproductions  of  Cardiglia  and  Reticella 
equal  to  the  rarest  antique  laces  of  this  quality  arc  exhibited  by 
Sighora  Fraschetti,  a  most  distinguished  artist  who  has  been  hon- 
ored by  orders  from  Her  Majesty  the  Queen,  and  is  appreciated 
as  the  producer  of  the  finest  and  most  exquisite  work  in  this  style 
now  made.     Her  address  is  Via  della  Carita  68,  Rome. 

THE  SCHOOL  OF  SAN  RANIERI,  PISA. 

An  industrial  school  of  which  the  Lady  Patroness,  Countess 
Agostini  Venerosi  della  Seta,  is  one  of  the  most  active  direc- 
tresses is  that  of  San  Ranier  at  Pisa,  which  exhibits  an  album 
composed  of  samples  of  lace  well  executed.  This  school  was 
instituted  in  the  middle  of  the  last  century  by  the  Grand  Duke 
of  Tuscany,  to  teach  weaving  as  a  means  of  instructing  the 
girls  of  the  poorest  class  among  the  townsfolk  in  the  useful  indus- 
try of  weaving;  but  this  trade,  as  well  as  that  of  straw  plaiting,  met 
with  no  success,  and  so  the  institution  was  gradually  changed 
into  an  industrial  school  in  the  modern  sense  of  the  word,  in 
which  hand  and  machine  knitting  and  sewing,  the  making  of  arti- 
ficial flowers  and  of  needle  and  bobbin  lace,  decorative  designing 
and  embroidery  ,  cooking,  washing  and  such  rudiments  of  educa- 
tion as  are  adapted  to  women  of  humble  extraction  are  taught. 
This  metamorphosis  into  the  existing  type  of  an  Italian  indus- 
trial school  was  accomplished  in  1879,  and  here,  as  in  all  these 
kind  of  institutions,  there  are  always  more  applications  for  admit- 
tance than  can  be  accepted,  although  about  three  hundred  pupils 
are  in  constant  attendance  and  the  maximum  time  consecrated  to 
the  instruction  of  one  pupil  is  three  years.' 

THE    SCHOOLS   OF    SAN    PELEGRINO,    BOLOGNA,   AND    SAN 
PAOLO,    MODENA. 

Schools  established  on  the  same  system  are  those  of 
the  institution  of  San  Pelegrino  at  Bologna,  which  exhibits  two 
beautiful  samples  of  its  work  in  lace  and  Sicilian  trapunto  and 
the  Educatorio  di  St.  Paolo  in  Modena,  from  which  Her  Majesty, 
the  Queen,  who  is  patroness,  sends  an   artistic  and  perfectly  em- 


I58  OLD    AND    NEW    LACE    IN    ITALY. 

broidered  screen  executed  for  her  by  the  girls  who  enjoy  the 
immense  advantage  of  having  the  artistic  branch  of  their  educa- 
tion under  the  supervision  of  Count  Gandini  and  can  embroider, 
quickly  and  perfectly,  copies  of  any  of  the  celebrated  antique 
pieces  of  Italian  work  contained  in  the  remarkable  collection  of 
textiles  at  the  museum,  which  has  been  made  by  him  and  bears 
his  name.  This  collection  has  already  been  copied  "by  order  of 
Her  Majesty  for  two  German  industrial  schools,  to  the  great  ad- 
vantage and  instruction,  not  only  of  the  girls  of  San  Paolo,  who 
did  the  work,  but  of  the  hundreds  of  foreign  children  who  were 
thus  enabled  to  profit  by  the  inspiration  of  the  unique  possessions 
of  the  Modenese  museum  in  the  development  of  their  artistic 
training. 

THE  ASYLUM  OF  THE  FIGLIE  DI  MARIA. 

On  the  western  slopes  of  the  mountainous  island  of 
Sardignia,  which  rises  like  an  immense  foot  out  of  the 
Mediterranean,  surrounded  by  its  shoals  of  smiling  islets, 
is  perched  the  picturesque  city  of  Sassari,  where,  in  1832, 
seven  poor  orphan  girls  were  taken  charge  of  by  a  benevo- 
lent soul  and  placed  under  the  pine  trees  and  among  the  olive 
groves  in  a  tiny  private  house,  that  they  might  no  longer  wander 
about  homeless  and  unkempt.  This  was  the  lowly  foundation  of 
the  great  institution  still  called  by  the  name  given  to  these  chil- 
dren, that  of  "Figlie  di  Maria"  (daughters  of  Mar}-),  which  under 
the  direction  of  the  Grey  Sisters  of  Saint  Vincent  di  Paolo,  has 
gradually  grown  and  been  transformed  into  the  center  from 
which  education,  civilization  and  all  the  virtues  emanate  to  the 
moral  advancement  of  the  whole  island;  for  under  the  wise  ad- 
ministration of  the  able  Suor  Agostini  Gassini,  no  less  than 
fifteen  hundred  orphans,  deaf  and  dumb  or  abandoned  children 
or  little  ones  whose  mothers  are  otherwise  occupied,  or  rich 
girls  whose  parents  desire  them  to  profit  by  the  remarkable 
educational  advantages  offered  through  the  exceptional  instruc- 
tion provided  by  the  cultured  women,  are  daily  taught  and  cared 
for  in  the  various  departments  of  this  great  beehive,  which  in- 
cludes  also    night-schools    for    men    and    women    of    the    most 


OLD    AND    NEW    LACK    IN    ITALY.  I  '-><) 

wretched  classes,  so    that   the   tremendous   influence    for   good 
of  this  far-reaching  establishment  can  be  imagined. 

We  can  only  speak  here  of  the  deaf  and  dumb  children,  who 
are  the  exhibitors  of  the  net  lace  contained  in  the  album  marked 
with  the  name  of  this  institution.  Their  intelligent,  merry 
faces  are  reproduced  in  the  photographs  placed  with  their 
work,  and  no  casual  observer  would  believe  they  belonged  to 
poor  mutes.  The  reason  is  easily  found,  for  the  motherly  hearts 
of  these  childless  Grey  Sisters  have  appreciated  the  longings  of 
the  maimed,  for  the  companionship  of  the  more  blessed  normal 
children;  and  so  the  mutes,  daughters  of  Mar)-,  (.luring  the  meal 
and  play  hours,  are  thrown  constantly  with  the  sound  orphans, 
and  amid  smiles  and  romps  and  gestures,  they  begin  to  imitate 
their  young  companions,  and,  guided  during  the  hours  of  lessons 
by  the  trained  wisdom  of  the  sisters,  quickly  learn  to  lisp  the 
few  uncertain  words  which  they  possess  the  power  of  articulating. 
But  even  better  than  the  physical  is  the  moral  effect  of  this 
system,  the  characters  wound  into  sympathetic  action  by  this 
busy  common  life,  and  no  words  can  depict  the  transformation 
from  sad  moroseness  to  gay  kindliness  which  occurs  in  the  poor 
deaf  mutes  who  bask  in  the  sunshine  of  this  sweet  and  simple, 
though  great  community. 

ORPHANAGE  OF  ST.  SILVESTRO,  FLORENCE. 

Another  orphanage  and  refuge  for  abandoned  children,  that 
of  St.  Silvestro,  Borgo  Pinto  14,  Florence,  sends  a  large  album 
and  six  photographs  of  laces,  which  have  been  executed  by 
inmates  of  this  establishment  which  is  greatly  assisted  in  its  noble 
work  through  the  proceeds  obtained  from  the  sale  of  its  excellent 
lace  by  peddling  it  from  house  to  house  and  in  the  hotels  of 
Florence. 

INSTITUTION  OF  ST.  TERESA  AND  THE  LEOPOLDINE 
SCHOOLS,  FLORENCE. 

Another  album  contains  samples  o\  the  work  executed 
in  the  institution  of  Santa  Teresa,  Via  dei  Serragli  10S,  which 
is  one  of  the  poorest  schools  in  Florence,  and  is  under  the  guid- 
ance of  the  Teresian  nuns. 


l60  OLD  AND  NEW  LACE  IN  ITALY. 

An  album  also  contains  the  lace  samples  sent  by  another 
Florentine  institution  in  which  the  young  idea  is  taught  to  shoot 
and  the  young  fingers  are  trained  to  useful  occupations,  called 
the  Leopoldine  Industrial  School,  which  is  conducted  on  the 
same  principle  as  that  of  San  Raineri  at  Pisa. 

SCHOOL  OF  CANTU. 

Two  immense  portfolios  represent  the  species  of  work  exe- 
cuted by  the  pupils  of  a  different  kind  of  industrial  school — that 
in  which  only  one  kind  of  trade  and  the  designing  for  it  is 
taught.  The  samples  they  contain  are  from  the  school  of  art 
applied  to  the  manufacture  of  lace,  which  exists  in  the  small  town 
of  Cantu,  situated  near  the  picturesque  Lake  Como,  and  forming 
the  center  of  one  of  the  greatest  lace  producing  regions  of  Italy. 
This  industry  was  planted  here  in  the  sixteenth  century  by  nuns 
of  the  Benedictine  order  who  had  a  convent  in  the  neighbor- 
hood, and  until  about  fifty  years  ago  was  confined  to  the  pro- 
duction of  torchons  and  simple  qualities  of  lace.  To  appreciate 
what  it  was  at  that  period  and  the  rapid  progress  since  made,, 
compare  the  work  of  the  school  exhibited  in  these  portfolios  or 
in  those  of  the  Cantuese  producers  with  the  album  sent  from 
Ascoli  Piceno  by  the  lady  patroness  from  the  Marche,  Signora 
Tenti,  which  is  composed  of  the  most  rudimentary  quality  of 
pillow  lace,  for  to  such  depths  has  fallen  the  once  celebrated 
lace  industry  of  Offida,  which  is  noticeable  for  its  remarkable 
cheapness  alone;  or  else  compare  it  with  the  collection  of  simple 
samples  of  the  laces  worked  in  the  Valley  of  Aosta  sent  by  one 
of  the  lady  patronesses  from  Piedmont,  the  Countess  Francesetti. 
Both  these  ladies  trust  that,  in  obtaining  a  ready  sale  for  their 
simple  laces,  the  poor  workwomen  will  bex  encouraged,  and  the 
antique  industry  can  be  revived,  with  its  former  elaborate  per- 
fection. Lace  at  Cantu  is  mostly  produced  as  an  accessory  to 
the  other  occupations  of  the  inhabitants.  Many  factories  exist 
in  this  part  of  the  country,  and  the  fields  here  are  rich  and 
require  much  work  at  certain  seasons;  and  so,  whenever  a  spare 
moment  is  found  amid  the  cares  of  housekeeping,  the  mother 
picks  up  her  cushion   and   sets  the   bobbins  flying,  the   children 


OLD  AND  NEW  LACE  IN  ITALY.  l6l 

come  home  from  school,  and,  fetching  their  cushions,  seat  them- 
selves beside  her;  and  later,  when  the  factories  close  and  the  sun 
has  set  upon  the  fields,  the  grown-up  daughters  come  home,  and 
taking  the  remaining  cushions,  set  merrily  to  work,  while 
recounting  the  simple  adventures  and  gossip  of  the  day.  This 
kind  of  sociable,  busy  life  can  but  produce  an  elevating  effect 
upon  the  morals  of  a  community,  and  it  has  been  noticed  that 
wherever  this  industry  of  lace-making  flourishes,  the  people 
deservedly  enjoy  the  reputation  of  being  both  thrifty  and  moral. 
About  ten  thousand  women  work  at  lace-making  in  the  immedi- 
ate neighborhood  of  Cantu  alone,  and  a  great  many  more  sup- 
port their  families  by  this  same  means  in  other  parts  of  the 
province. 

The  work  is  produced  either  independently  and  sold  to 
merchants  who  go  from  house  to  house  for  the  purpose  of  buy- 
ing it,  or  is  brought  to  the  weekly  market  like  butter  or  eggs;  at 
other  times  it  is  executed  upon  the  designs  and  with  the  guidance 
furnished  by  the  shopkeepers  and  lace  merchants  of  Cantu, 
who,  some  of  them,  send  representatives  to  travel  from  city  to 
city  at  certain  seasons,  selling  the  produce  of  their  homes  to 
the  great  shops  or  have  branch  establishments  in  one  city  or 
another.  Many  of  the  lace-makers,  however,  work  entirely  by 
contract  for  the  great  lace  emporiums  and  are  not  allowed  to  sell 
toother  purchasers  any  lace  produced  on  the  designs  furnished 
to  them.  Among  others,  the  establishments  of  Jesurum,  at 
Venice  and  Paris,  find  it  worth  while  to  have  certain  work  for 
which  the  Cantuese  enjoy  a  special  reputation  executed  in  this 
way  and  I  seize  the  opportunity  to  thank  in  the  name  of  the  Com- 
mittee the  Cavaliere  Michangelo  Jesurum,  head  of  these  houses,  for 
the  flattering  interest  he  has  evinced  in  our  undertaking  and  the 
loan  of  some  of  the  beautiful  polichrome  laces  made  at  his 
Venetian  school  of  Maria  Pia,  to  complete  the  illustration  of  the 
present  condition  of  Italian  lace-making.  The  last  named  system  is 
defective,  for  the  producer  is  very  poorly  paid,  and  the  middle- 
man is  in  constant  fear  of  being  crushed  between  the  anvil  and 
hammer;  but  fortunately  many  of  these  Cantuese  me;  chants 
through  inheritance  or  personal  industry  have  obtained  a  small 
11 


l62  OLD    AND    NEW    LACE    IN    ITALY. 

private  capital  which  enables  them  to  stand  alone  to  the  advan- 
tage of  their  workwomen, of  their  own  self-respect  and  of  the  public. 
The  cleverest  among  these  are  the  following  who  have  produced 
really  artistic  work  and  have  already  been  the  recipients  of  dis- 
tinctions, medals  and  diplomas  at  various  exhibitions: 

ANTONIA  MERONI,  CANTU. 

Antonia  Meroni,  who  is  the  head  of  an  intelligent,  kindly  and 
clever  family  and  most  honorable  in  all  her  dealings,  and  there- 
fore a  favorite  among  the  lady  patronesses,  sends  with  our 
exhibit  an  album  containing  samples  of  perfectly  executed  lace 
and  a  large  collection  entered  for  competition  and  sale,  consist- 
ing of  beautifully  executed  laces,  the  designs  of  which  are  taken 
from  the  antique,  also  Duchess  silk,  Blonde  and  torchon  laces  of 
superior  quality.  Large  orders  for  pillow  lace  can  be  more 
quickly  executed  by  the  firms  of  Cantu  and  those  of  Liguria 
than  in  the  schools,  because  they  have  more  skilled  hands  at 
their  command,  but  the  object  of  our  organization  meets  this  dif- 
ficulty by  distributing  the  work  when  necessary  among  several 
different  producers,  so  as  to  satisfy  a  great  demand  in  the  shortest 
possible  space  of  time. 

COLOMBO,   CANTU. 

Angelo,  and  Giuseppina  Colombo,  exhibit  an  album  containing 
of  127  samples  as  well  as  a  quantity  of  lace  for  sale,  which  is  supe- 
rior by  far  to  the  samples  and  contains  pretty  veils,  scarfs  and 
handkerchiefs  in  Duchess  Blonde  and  antique  lace. 

MARELLI  BENEDETTA,  CANTU. 

Marelli  Benedetta  and  Vittorio  Gabri,  of  Cantu,  is  the  pres- 
ent head  of  a  very  old  firm,  and  exhibits  also  an  album  of 
samples  and  a  large  quantity  of  torchon  silk,  Blonde  and  guipure 
lace,  besides  distinguishing  herself  by  the  production  of  fine 
black  Brussels  lace,  scarfs  and  shawls,  some  of  which  is  contained 
iu  our  collection.  She  is  well  known  because  of  the  exactness  of 
execution  of  all  of  her  designs. 

The  family  of  Marelli  also  founded  in  1821  through  one  of  its 
daughters,  Maria  Mart  Hi,  who  married  an  Arnaboldi  and  settled  at 


OLD  AND  NEW  LACK  IN  ITALY.  1 63 

Carinate,  near  Cantu,  founding  the  firm  now  belonging  to  Vit- 
torio  Gabri,  which  employs  about  650  lace-makers  and  was  es- 
tablished and  flourished  for  many  years  owing  to  orders  received 
from  France.  This  house  has  always  enjoyed  an  enviable  repu- 
tation for  the  excellent  quality  of  its  pretty  pattern-,  and 
especially  for  the  delightful  softness  of  its  silk  blondes. 

LIGURIA. 

Another  great  and  productive  center  of  lace-making  1-  the 
beautiful  Riviera  di  Levar  te,  between  the  ports  of  Genoa  and 
Spezzia.  Strangers  who  linger  in  the  Alps  Maritimes  cannot 
imagine  the  charm  of  this  exquisite  region  when  the  Riviera  di 
Ponente  has  already  become  hot,  dusty  and  enervating,  and  in 
consequence  this  favored  region  enjoys  two  seasons,  that  of  the 
strangers  in  winter  and  of  the  Italians  in  summer,  who  find  it 
■more  beneficial  than  watering  places  farther  away  from  home,  as 
it  possesses  the  rare  combination  of  sea  and  mountain  air,  with  a 
good  warm  surf  greatly  charged  with  salt  and  iodine. 

But  the  foreign  visitors  of  the  winter  months  and  the  com- 
patriots who  flock  hither  in  the  summer  pause  alike  to  watch  the 
diligent  lace-makers,  who  sit  peacefully  at  home  attending  to  then- 
household  duties  and  supporting  themselves  and  their  little  ones 
by  the  yards  and  yards  of  snowy  lace  which  roll  off  the  cushion 
from  under  their  flying  fingers,  while  their  husbands  on  fishing 
smacks  and  ships  scour  the  sea  to  bring  home  a  patrimony  for  the 
children. 

Genoa  is  the  center  of  the  lace  trade,  but  Sta  Margarita  and 
Rapallo  are  the  two  villages  which  produce  the  largest  quantity 
of  pillow  lace,  while  Chiavari,  on  the  same  coast,  is  entirely  de- 
voted to  that  specialty  of  the  Riviera  the  graceful  knotted  lace 
fringes  for  household   linen   called   Macrame. 

CHIAVARI. 

Yincenzo  Badarucco  and  Nicola  Bianchi  exhibit  a  quantity 
of  artistic  towels  executed  in  this  antique  Moorish   work. 

RAPALLO. 

The  lace- makers  of  Rapallo  who  exhibit  under  the  patronage 
of  the  wife  of  the   mayor,  Signora   Castagnetta  Ricci,  have  sent 


164  OLD    AND    NEW    LACE    IN    ITALY. 

an  album  composed  of  leaves,  each  dedicated  to  a  different  ex- 
hibition. 

The  school  of  the  Providenza  comes  first  in  this  portafoglio, 
and  followed  by  Nicoletta  Castagnetta  Tessara,  whose  beautifully 
executed  laces  have  received  diplomas  and  medals.  Next  come 
the  samples  from  the  long-established  shops  of  Luigia  Campo- 
donico,  who  also  exhibits  laces  of  thread  and  silk  and  has  enjoyed 
in  the  past  both  medals  and  diplomas  for  her  products.  Teresa 
Canevaro  sends  all  the  kinds  of  laces  which  are  made  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Genoa,  such  as  Point  de  Lille,  Malines,  Chan- 
tilly,  etc.;  like  many  of  the  others  she  has  also  enjoyed  distinc- 
tions, but  as  we  desire  all  these  laces  to  stand  or  fall  on  their  own 
merits,  we  will  cease  the  lengthy  enumeration  of  their  qualifica- 
tions. 

Maria  Schiattino  and  Ouirolo  exhibit  samples  and  laces  of 
the  same  type  as  the  above,  as  also  Gherardelli  Campodonico. 

Rosa  Lanata  also  makes  every  variety  of  Ligurian  lace,  but 
her  specialty  is  an  artistic  quality  of  Chantilly  and  she  exhibits  in 
it  a  pretty  design  of  roses  of  which  she  sold  a  quantity  to  Her 
Majesty,  the  German  Empress  Frederik,  on  her  last  visit  to  the 
Riviera.  Angelo  Morelli  and  Gaetano  Vassallo,  Colombo  Caprili 
and  Anna  Barbieri,  all  exhibit  the  same  qualities  of  lace  but 
without  samples. 

SANTA  MARGHERITA. 

The  following  are  the  exhibitors  from  the  neighbor- 
ing commune  of  Santa  Margherita.  The  most  celebrated  is 
of  course  the  firm  of  Angela  Baffico,  whose  intelligent  enter- 
prise has  been  mentioned  as  the  cause  of  the  present  prosperity 
of  the  lace  trade  in  Liguria.  Lorenzo  Barbagelata  sent  an  album 
as  well  as  a  quantity  of  lace  principally  by  the  yard,  and  a  fine 
deep  flounce  of  Chantilly  made  in  one  piece  with  hundreds  of 
bobbins. 

Felice  Foppiano  exhibits  laces  and  Marianna  Marigliano 
sends  samples,  but  accompanied  as  are  the  goods  of  several  other 
exhibitions  by  a  pillow  with  lace  upon  it  in  process  of  fabrica- 
tion. 


OLD    AND    NEW    LACK    IN    ITALY.  [65 

Nana  Raffo  Costa  makes  a  specialty  of  Blondes,  point  de  Lille 
and   Duchess   laces. 

SAMPIERDARENA. 

From  Sampierdarena  almost  within  the  gates  of  Genoa  Ernes- 
tina  Gavotti  sends  most  artistic  lace  fugio  and  old  Genoese  point 
perfectly  executed  in  gold  and  silver  or  in  white  thread.  Her 
lace  is  of  the  highest  merit  and  deserves  to  be  universally 
copied  in  Liguria,  as  she  has  returned  to  the  original  type  of 
work  for  which  this  part  of  Italy  was  celebrated.  From  the 
city  of  Genoa,  Giuseppe  Russo  exhibits  a  large  collection  of 
samples  of  modern  laces  made  in  Liguria,  and  Doctor  Yittorio 
Macchiavello,  to  pannels  illustrative  of  the  development  of  lace 
making  in  the  same  province. 

PERUGIA. 

The  ladies  of  Perugia  exhibit  an  album  which  contains  MM 
samples  of  modern  lace  which  they  manufacture  in  their  leisure 
hours,  but  this  is  not  the  only  modern  lace  sent  to  Chicago  from 
Perugia;  we  have  already  mentioned  the  superb  antique  volume 
of  Veccelio  full  of  designs  and  samples  which  belonged  to  a  sup- 
pressed religious  order  of  that  city,  and  the  nuns  since  the 
secularization  of  their  convents  without  losing  any  of  their  deli- 
cate taste  for  needle  work  have  become  a  busy  race  and  do 
not  only  direct  the  children  in  the  asylums  and  nurse  the 
sick  in  the  hospitals,  but  they  gather  around  them  the  miserable 
and  disoccupied  everywhere.  Some  of  the  gentle  sisterhood 
have  descended  to  the  lowest  steps  of  abnegation  and  in  their 
humility  have  undertaken  the  superintendence  and  instruction 
of  the  most  debased  class  of  womankind,  that  of  the  female 
convicts  in  the  prisons,  in  order  that  by  their  constant  presence 
and  loving,  pitying  care  they  may  redeem  them,  if  possible,  and 
show  that  they  are  lost  by  association  and  not  by  nature.  To 
these  the  teaching  of  lace  has  proved  invaluable,  not  only  in- 
teresting the  artistic  temperament  of  the  women  but  permitting 
long  hours  of  personal  civilizing  intercourse,  unsuspected  by  the 
shy  outcasts  who  learn  at  the  same  time  a  trade  which  furnishes 
them  with  an  easy  means  of  support  for  the  first  moments 


l66  OLD  AND  NEW  LACE  IN  ITALY. 

liberty,  the  want  and  misery  of  which  often  inspire  to  fresh  deeds 
of  crime.  The  album  composed  of  beautifully  executed  samples 
of  torchon  and  Brussels  pillow  lace  is  exhibited  by  the  sisters  of 
Providence  and  worked  under  their  direction  in  the  great 
woman's  prison  at  Perugia,  and  a  smaller  album  comes  from  an- 
other female  prison  at  Messina  where  pillow  laces  and  Sicilian 
drawn  work  are  perfectly  copied  from  the  antique. 

TUSCAN   HOMESPUNS. 

Another  field  of  the  sisters'  activity  in  Tuscany  is  illustrated 
by  the  rich-toned  material  which  covers  the  walls  and  drapes  the 
windows  of  the  Italian  section,  and  they  send  a  sample  composed 
of  varied  specimens  of  this  quality  of  picturesque  homespun 
made  upon  hand  looms  by  the  peasant  girls  of  Tuscany  under 
the  direction  of  Suor  Denis  and  the  Sisters  of  Charity  at  Miglio- 
rano,  province  of  Pisa,  where  these  indefatigable  women,  with 
no  capital  but  faith  and  perseverance,  have  struggled  on  and 
planted  a  flourishing,  artistic  and  worthy,  though  modest  indus- 
try, the  material  which  they  use  being  of  the  best,  and  the  com- 
bination of  effect  chosen  with  the  unerring  good  taste,  which  is 
peculiarly  the  attribute  of  high  ladies  of  culture,  no  matter  what 
humble  garb  may  conceal  their  identity.  These  noble  women  hope 
that  the  appreciation  of  their  artistic  products,  which  must  arise 
when  they  are  known,  will  bring  them  many  orders  which  would 
enable  them  to  increase  the  looms,  employing  a  larger  number  of 
destitute -girls  and  forming  a  small  capital.  The  fringe  is  also 
woman's  work,  being  dyed  and  woven  by  Maddalena  Salvadori 
Calle  di  Pietro,  No.  5087  San  Bartolomeo,  Venice,  whose  spec- 
ialty is  the  copying  of  antique  fringes.  In  cotton  bought  at 
wholesale  prices,  which  would  procure  for  them  the  possibility 
of  selling  more  cheaply  the  artistic  materials,  dress  cottons  and 
coarse  homespuns,  which  are  purely  woman's  work  and  essent- 
ially original  as  being  produced  without  any  assistance  whatever 
from  the  stronger  sex. 

But  the  gentle  nuns  have  occupations  further  afield  wherever 
there  is  ignorance  and  misery,  and  they  do  not  hesitate  in  their 
self-abnegation  to  seek  the  most  distant  lands  in   which  to  culti- 


OLD    AND    NEW    I   \<  I     l\    II  \I.Y.  \6j 

vate  the  industrious  possibilities  dormant  in  the  laziest  savage 
nature.  They  only  imitate  the  example  set  by  their  sisters  ol  the 
sixteenth  century,  who  meekly  followed  on  the  destructive  "path- 
way of  the  fierce  and  brutal  conquerors  of  Peru  and  Mexico, 
striving  to  bind  up  some  of  the  hearts  which  they  had  broken 
and  cure  a  few  of  the  wounds  inflicted  by  their  barbarity.  They 
sought  too  with  the  healing  balm  of  Christian  charity  to  soothe 
the  distraught  minds  of  the  poor  aborigines  committed  to  their 
charge  and  to  train  the  trembling  hands  to  firm  self-reliance 
through  the  practical  arts  of  industrious  peace. 

They  caused  the  men  to  build  houses  and  churches  under 
their  supervision,  while  they  taught  the  women  to  sew  and  make- 
lace  to  adorn  the  altars  of  Him  for  love  of  whom  they  had 
donned  their  rough  garb  and  toiled  so  patiently  among  the  deso- 
late races,  and  their  work  was  not  in  vain,  as  is  proved  by  the 
curious  lace  numbered  599,  which  has  become  identified  with  the 
inhabitants  of  Paraguay,  and  by  the  lace-makers  still  found 
among  the  Pacific  coast  Indians  of  North  America,  who  have  been 
considered  worth)-  to  form  part  of  the  great  World's  Fair,  which 
constitutes  the  apotheosis  of  woman's  development  throughout 
the  ages. 

The  Italian  Missionary  Nuns  of  to-day  follow  in  the  footsteps 
of  their  predecessors,  humbly  thanking  God  that  the  inventions 
of  the  nineteenth  century  render  their  tasks  less  arduous,  and 
in  Ceylon  and  the  islands  of  the  archipelago,  in  far  Japan  and 
isolated  China  (See  Nos.  619  and  697  cases)  in  every  land  where 
the  Catholic  Church  has  penetrated,  they  train  the  girls  in  wom- 
anly occupations  so  that  the  little  heathen  orphans  intrusted  to 
their  instruction  owe  to  them  among  many  other  useful  occupa- 
tions a  knowledge  of  lace-making,  which  if  made  use  of  with 
industry,  even  should  other  means  fail,  would  always  keep  them 
from  misery  and  starvation. 

Since  history  began,  Italy  has  ever  marched  in  the  vanguard 
of  progress,  and  when  in  the  centuries  that  followed  the  fall  of 
the  Roman  Empire  under  the  repeated  barbarian  invasions,  all 
Europe  was  one  battle-field  of  strife  and  bloodshed  engendered 
by  ignorance,  hatred,  malice  and  all  uncharitableness,   fair   Italy 


l68  OLD  AND  NEW  LACE  IN  ITALY. 

awoke  first  to  her  shame,  and  raising  her  head,  shook  off  the  insidi- 
ous barbarism  of  the  middle  ages,  which  was  trying  to  destroy  all 
record  of  her  great  Latin  past,  and  uprose  with  a  mighty  deter- 
mination to  redeem  her  reputation,  and  recivilize  and  educate 
mankind.  The  other  nations  of  Europe  stood  awestruck  by  the 
products  of  her  fertile  genius.  The  writings  of  her  great  sons 
penetrated  to  the  uttermost  of  the  continent  and  quickened  the 
hearts  and  souls  of  intelligent  men  to  higher  aspirations.  The 
beautiful  remnants  of  her  frail  laces,  stranded  in  every  town  of 
civilization,  are  but  the  straws  left  by  the  current  to  indicate 
where  its  vivifying  waters  have  passed.  But,  alas,  the  taste  of 
these  was  very  sweet  and  strong  and  proved  as  intoxicating  as 
the  wines  from  the  Sicilian  vineyards,  and  each  nation  deter- 
mined to  call  the  fountain  head  its  own,  so  that  the  clamor  of 
strife  again  re  echoed  from  the  Alps  to  the  Apennines  and  once 
more  the  sons  of  the  soil  were  ground  down  beneath  an  usurping 
foreign  heel. 

The  powers  of  to-day  still  gaze  longingly  toward  the  sunny 
hills  and  blue  skies  of  United  Italy,  and  the  young  nation  is 
forced  to  spend  all  that  she  can  earn  to  arm  herself  to  the  teeth 
and  defend  her  hearth  and  home  against  the  covetous,  instead 
of  using  it  upon  the  education  of  her  poorest  children. 

O  proud  and  rich  Columbia,  if  you  want  the  Italians  to 
remain  at  home  and  keep  far  from  your  cities  and  your  ports, 
open  these  instead  to  their  trade.  Let  the  oil  and  the  fruits  and 
the  silk  and  the  flax,  the  beautiful  artistic  carvings  in  wood  and 
stone,  the  original  paintings  and  the  reproduction  of  the  glori- 
ous works  of  the  past,  the  soft  laces  and  the  rich  embroideries 
executed  by  the  women,  enter  your  land  in  their  stead. 

The  Italians  love  their  simple  homes  with  a  passion  thai:  is 
unquenchable  and  will  bless  you  for  the  alternative.  Oh  cause 
your  happy  citizens  to  think  on  the  pleasant  weeks  of  travel  they 
have  enjoyed  among  the  beautiful  views  of  Italy,  the  foreground 
ever  composed  of  wondrous  monuments  and  works  of  art,  cause 
them  to  think  of  the  potent  charm  which  has  moved  them  in 
your  theaters  as  in  their  own  houses,  while  listening  to  the 
superb   music    of  Italian   composers,  the   rich    voices   of  Italian 


TfL"D    WD     M.W      I    \t    I,     l\     II  ,\l.\  .  \(n, 

singers:  or  when  alone  beside  their  hearths  the  winters'  cold, 
the  summer  heat  have  been  alike  forgotten  in  conning  th< 
-enchanting  description  oJ  Virgil,  Pliny,  Tasso,  Petrarch,  Manzoni 
and  half  a  hundred  others,  cause  them  to  think  on  the  teachings 
of  St.  Augustine  of  Savanarola  and  of  Galileo  to  winch  they  and 
the  world  owe  so  much,  and  on  the  emotion  they  experienced 
when  first  stirred  by  the  overwhelming,  awful  language  of  greal 
Dante— and  the  next  time  they  have  to  do  with  poor  benighted 
Italian  emigrants,  let  them  remember  that  the  same  rich  soil 
gave  birth  to  poet  and  peasant  alike. 

And  if  this  fails  to  touch  their  hearts  and  still  the  charitable 
American's  desire  to  close  your  doors  on  these  brothers  in  faith 
and  feature,  whose  only  fault  is  a  neglected  education,  let  them 
pause  and  remember,  God  did  not  send  one  of  the  great  Italians 
in  1492  across  the  ocean  to  discover  an  "  America  for  the  Ameri- 
cans;" these  existed  already  in  your  first  dusky  sons,  who  have 
been  cruelly  sacrificed  to  the  exigencies  of  progress,  but  to  found 
a  home  full  of  prosperity  and  freedom,  alike  for  the  persecuted 
and  the  enterprising  sons  of  all  Europe,  in  which  they  mighl 
create  a  strong  new  nation.  Cristofero  Colombo  of  Genoa,  who 
sailed  from  Spain  with  a  crew  composed  of  the  most  reckless  souls 
fro-m  all  the  ports  of  the  Mediterranean  coast,  brought  no  money 
in  his  hand,  no  treasures  in  his  ships;  his  riches  were  intelligena 
and  will;  the  early  settlers,  fleeing  from  persecution,  were  no 
better  provided,  and  as  the  centuries  have  rolled  on  and  you  have 
grown  rich  and  powerful,  the  personal  condition  and  the  char- 
acter of  the  Italians  who  seek  your   shores  has  not  changed. 

Oh,  hearken,  fair  mighty,  glorious  Columbia  God-child  and 
namesake  of  the  great  Genoese,  it  is  one  of  your  own  daughters 
who  calls  to  you  across  the  waters  he  traversed  in  search  of  you; 
close  not  your  doors  against  his  kinsmen  last  in  the  throng  you 
shut  out  one  of  his  own  children,  heir  to  his  genius  to  which 
you  owe  your  very  being.  CAstkllo  hi  B  RAZZ  A. 

March  i  i,  1893. 


(■Jo  (il.n    AND    NEW    LACE    IS    ITALY 


PART  VI. 


List  of  the  names  of  the  ladies  forming  the  subscribers  and 
Committee  for  the  Italian  Lace  Exhibit  in  the  Woman's  Building; 
at  the  World's  Columbian  Exhibition  in  Chicago,  United  States,. 
America,  during  the  summer  of  1893. 

Initiaters  constituted  into  a  Board  of  Administration. 

The  Countess  Cora  A.  di  Brazza  Savorgnan  nata  Slocomb, 
elected  president  and  representative  of  the  Committee  in 
America. 

Her  Excellency  the  Marchioness  Paula  Res  di  Villamarina, 
Grand  mistress  of  ceremonies  to  Her  Majesty  the  Queen. 

The  Countess  Teresa  Agostini  Venerosi  della  Seta  (replacing 
her  mother,  Countess  Andriana  Marcello,  deceased).  Lady  in 
waiting  to    Her  Majesty. 

Princess  Elizabeth  Brancaccio  di  Trigiano  nata  Field,  Lady 
of  the  palace  to  Her  Majesty. 

Countess   Maria   Pasolini    nata    Ponti. 

General    Secretary    and      Italian     Correspondent,    Signorina 
Dorina    Bearzi  :    assistant,    Signorina    Victoria    Fanna. 
Address  Claviano,  Provincia  di  Udine. 
Secretary  in  America, 

Si c.nora  Eva  Mariotti. 

Italian  Section  Woman's   Building,  Chicago. 


Oil)  AND  NEW  LACK  IN  ITALY.  IJI 

I.     ANCIENT  VENETIA. 

DIVIDED    INTO   TWO    PARTS     -VENETIA    AND    FRIULI. 

1st.    Venetia    Capital  Venice. 

Lire. 

Directress. — Countess   Andriana    Marcello    (deceased)    for   the    lady 

in  waiting  to  Her  Majesty — School  of  Burano him 

Patronesses. — Duchess  Biancha  Bianchi  di  Casalanza,  Mogliano 100 

Signora  Teresa  Paccagnello,  nata  pigazzi,  Mogliano 100 

Countess  Maria  Bonin,  nata  nievo,  Vicenza 100 

Countess  Carolina  Colleoni,  nata  Ginstiniani  Bandini,  Vicenza.. .  .  100 

Princess  Giovanelli,  nata  Chigi 

Lady  of  the  Palace  to  Her  Majesty  Lonigo 100 

Countess  Loredana  di  Porto  nata  Bonin,  Vicenza LOO 

Countess  della  Torre,  Vicenza 100 

Countess  Maria  degli  Azzoni  Avagadro,  Padua 103 

Signora  Stefania  Embone,  Padua 1 1 N I 

Countess    Papafava  dei    Carraresi,   nata     Menicone    Bracceschi, 

Padua 100 

Signora  Anais  Forlani,  Padua 100 

Countess   Brandolin,  nata  d'Adda,  Lady  of  the    Palace   to    Her 

Majesty,  Venice 100 

Mrs.  Arthur  Bronson,  Venice 100 

Mrs.  Robert  Browning,  Venice 100 

.    Countess  Eleanor  Papadopoli,  nata  Hellenbach,  Lady  of  the  Pal- 
ace to  Her  Majesty,  Venice 100 

Countess  Miniscalchi  Errizo,  nata  Ponti,  Verona 100 


Total  Venetia 2403 

2d.     Friuli-  Capital  Udine. 

Lire. 
Directress  of  Province. — Countess   Cora  di   Brazza  Savorgnan,  nata 

Slocomb — for  Lace  School  of  Brazza 800 

Collected 285 

Patronesses — Mrs.  G.  Pendleton  Bowler 100 

M rs.  Cuthbert  Slocomb 100 

Signorina  Jenny  Cecconi   l 

c.                 r-i    ■      /-            ■[  of  Mount  Ceccon 200 

Signorina  Llvira  Cecconi  ) 

Directress,  City  of  Udine. — Contessina  Vittoria  Cecconi  Beltrame —  'Jl<> 

Signora  Camilla  Pecile 160 

Signora  Elio  Morpurgo 150 

Countess  Veradi  Brazza,  Marchesa  Simonetti 100 


172  OLD    AND    NEW    LACE    IN    ITALY. 

Contessina  Giulia  di  Concina 100 

Signora  Emilia  Girardelli  Muratti  of  Trieste 100 


Total  Friuli 2305 

N.  B. — II.     Total  Venetia Lire,  4708 

II.    ROMAN  PROVINCES. 

LlEES. 

Directresses. — Her  Excellency  Marchesa  Paula  Pes  di  Villamarina. 

1.  The  Grand  Mistress  of  Ceremonies  to  Her  Majesty,  Rome. .  .  100 

2.  Princess  Elizabetta  Brancacciodi  Trigiano,  nata  Field,  Rome.  400 
Italian  Patronesses. — Signora  Antoinette  Costa 120 

Countess  Barbiellini  Amidei,  nata  Lewis  Rome _ 100 

Countess  Caprara,  Rome 100 

Marchesa  Gravina,  Rome 100 

Countess  Giannotti,  nata  Kinney,  Rome 100 

Countess  Santa  Fiora,  nata  Santa  Croce 

Lady  of  the  Palace  to  Her  Majesty,  Rome 100 

Marchesa  di  San  Severino,  Rome  100 

Countess  Ada  Telfner,  nata  Hungerford,  Rome 100 

Marchesa  Vanni,  Pasqua,  Rome ■ 100 

Princess  di  Venosa,  Lady  of  the  Palace  to  Her  Majesty,  Rome. .  .  100 

Duchess  Lante,  nata  Davis,  Viterbo 100 


Total 1,420 

Foreign  Patronesses  residing  in  Rome-  —Mrs.    Orville    Horwitz,   of 

Baltimore 300 

Mrs.  Stanley  Hazeltine,  of  Philadelphia 100 

Mrs.  Hungerford,  of  California 100 

Mrs.  Nathan  Sargent,  American  Legation   100 


Foreign  patronesses,  total 600 

Italian  Patronesses 1,420 


II.     Total,  Roman  provinces 2,020 

III.     TUSCANY. 

LlEES. 

Directress    of  Province. — Countess  Teresa  Agostini  Venerosa  della 

Seta,  nata  Marcello — Pisa 420 

Patronesses. — Countess  Larderel,  Leghorn 120 

Signora  Maria  Mimbelli,  Leghorn 100 

The  ancient  divisions  of  Italy  are  ranked  in  this  list  according  to  the  sums  of  money  col- 
ected  within  the  provinces  which  compose  them. 


OLD    AND    NEW    LA<  1      IN    ITALY.  1 73 

Other  ladies  of   Leghorn 110 

Countess  Bernardi,  Lucca 1  -'  I 

Signora  Costanza  Huffer,  Lucca 100 

Other  ladies  of  Lucca 40 


Total  1,076 

2.    Capital  Florence. 

LlKKS. 

Directress.— Marchesa  Anna  Torregiani,  nata  Fry 210 

Patronesses. — Princess  Anna  Cortsini,  nata  Barberini,   Lady  of  the 

Palace  to  Her  Majesty 100 

Marchesa  Gentile  Farinola,  Lady  of  the  Palace  to  Her  Majesty. .  100 

Mrs.  Fahestock,  of  New  York 100 

Countess  Josephine  della  Gherardesca,  nata  Fischer 100 

Marchesa  di  Montagliari 100 

Marchesa  Lily  Spinola,  nata  Page 100 

Marchesa  Ginlia  Torregiani,  Lady  of  the  Palace  to  Her  Majesty..  100 


Total,  Florence 910 

2.  ( )ther  cities 1,079 


III.     Total,  Tuscany 1,989 

IV.     SICILY. 

Lire. 
Directress  for  Messina,   Countess    Marullo— Lady  of  the  Palace  to 
Her  Majesty  and  a  Committee  of  Ladies  organized  by  her  in  Mes- 
sina    958 

Directress  for  Palermo.     Unelected  Patronesses — Princess  Sofia  Tra- 

bia  di  Butero,  Nate  Galeotto—  Lady  of  the  Palace  to  Her  Majesty.  225 

Princess  Baucina — Lady  of  the  Palace  to  Her  Majesty 100 

Princess    Sofia    Belmonte    Montroy— Lady   of    the    Palace   to    Her 

Majesty 100 

Signora  Tomaso  Crudeli 100 

Signora  Florio 1 m 

Countess  Mazzarino— Lady  of  the  Palace  to  Her  Majesty 100 

Princess   Maria  di   Sant   Elia  nata    Menebua— Lady   in    Waiting  to 

Her  Majesty 100 

Signora  Tina  Whitaker 100 


Palermo  total — 925 

Total  Messina 958 


IV.    Total  Sicilv 1883 


174  OLD    AND    NEW    LACE    IN    ITALY. 

V.     LOMBARDY. 


Lire. 


Directress.     Marchesa  Maria  Trotti — Lady  in  Waiting  to  Her  Maj- 
esty  150 

Patronesses  for  Milan.     Signora  Cramer,  nata  Pourtales 160 

Marchesa  Maura  di  Cassini,  Nata  Ponti 100 

Marchesa  Isimbardi 100 

Signora  Remingia  Ponti 100 

Signora  Virginia  Ponti 100 

Countess  Erminia  Sala  nata  Trotti — Lady  of  the  Palace  to  Her  Maj- 
esty    100 

Princess  Ida  Visconti  di  Modroni 100 


1.     Total  Milan 910 

Patronesses  for  Other  Cities. 

Countess  Suardi  nata  Ponti,  Bergamo 200 

The  Administrative  Committee  of  the  Industrial  School  at   Cantu. .  .  100 

Signora  Ester  Isingrini,  nata  Ponti  Monza 100 

Countess  Gwendolinadella  Somaglia,  nata  Doria — Lady  of  the  Palace 

to  Her  Majesty,  Monza 100 

Signora  Charles  Leonino,  Varese 100 


2.     Other  cities 600 

Total  Milan 910 


/ 


V.     Total  Lombardy 1510 

VII.     ROMAGNA. 

Lire. 
Directress — Countess   Maria   Pasolini,   nata  Ponti  for  the  school  of 

Cocolia,  by  Ravenna 800 

Collected 120  00 

Patronesses — Marchesa  Virginia  di  Mazzocorato  Bologna 167  50 

Duchess  Massari-Ferrara 100  00 


VI.     Total— Romagna 1,187  50 

VII.     LIGURIA. 

Lire. 
Directress — Marchesa  Fiammetta  Doria — Lady  of  the  Palace  patron- 
esses to  Her  Majesty,  Genoa 700 

Princess  Camilla  Centurione  Scotti,  Genoa 100 


Total— Genoa 800 


OLD    AND     NEW     LACE     IN     ITALY.  I  ~  jj 

Other  Cities. 

Duchess  Canevero  di  Zoagi,  Chiavari 200 

Signora  Castagnetto  Ricci,  Rapallo 100 


Total— other  cities 300 

Total— Genoa BOO 

VII.   Total— Liguria 1,100 

VIII.      NAPLES. 

Lire. 

Directress — Donna  Maria  Spinelli  dei  principe  di  Scalia 1<>0 

Patronesses — Baroness  Baracco,  Lady  of  the  Palace  to  Her  Majesty.  100 

Princess  Colonna  Stigliano,  nata  Mackay 100 

Signora  Sofia  di  Luca,  nata  Kennedy 100 

Princess  di  Moliterno,  Lady  of  the  Palace  to  Her  Majesty 1<"> 

Princess  Pignatelli  Strongoli,  Lady  in  waiting  to  Her  Majesty low 

Marchesa  Santasilia 100 

Duchess  Tommacelle  della  Torre  nata  Haight 100 

Baroness  Tosti 100 


VIII.     Total,  Naples 900 

IX.     PIEDMONT. 

Lire. 

Patronesses— The  Ladies  of  Her  Majesty 150 

Baroness  Blanc 100 

Countess  Natalie  Francesetti  nata  della  Rocca 100 

Countess  Incisa  di  San  Stefano  nata  Sambaz 100 


IX.     Total,  Piedmont 450 

X.     EMILIA. 

Patronesses—  Marchesa   Rita   Schedoni,   nata    Princess  Manoukbey, 

Modena 135 

Conntess  Gaddi,  nata  Pepoli,  Lady  of  the  Palace  to  Her  Majesty, 

Forlim  popoli 125 


Total,  Emilia 260 

XI.     UMBRIA. 

Patronesses— Marchesa  Chigi  Zondadare,  Sienna 100 

Countess  Memieore  Bracceschi  nata  Brazza-Savorgnan,  Perugia . .  100 

XI.     Total,  Umbria 200 


I76  OLD    AND    NEW    LACE    IN    ITALY. 

XII.  ABRUZZI. 

Patroness — Marchesa  Cappelli,  nata  Hirsch,  Aquila Total 100 

XIII.  MARCHE. 

Patroness — Signora  Antoinetta  Tinti  Ascoli-Picena Total 100 

XIV.     SARDEGNA. 

Signorina  Giordano  Apostoli  Sassari ,  Total 100 


OLD   AND    NEW    LACE    IN    ITALY.  IJJ 


BOOKS  COLLECTED  BY  ORDER  OF  MR.  CHRISTOPHER  R.  CUM- 
MINGS,  OF  CHICAGO. 

677.  L'Ecole  de   Dentelles   a    Burano   Venezia  Imprimierie.     Kirchmayr  & 

Scotti,  182-. 

678.  I  Merletti  ad  Ago  o  a  Punto   in  Aria  di   Burano.      Richiamo  Storico  1I1 

Pasqualigo  Co.,  Dr.  Giuseppe,  Treste,  Tipografia,  Pastori,  1887. 

679.  Cenni  sull'  Industria  dei  Merletti.       Michel  Angelo,  Jesurum,  Venezia, 

Tipografia  del  Commercio. 

680.  La  Storia  della  Conquistadi  Due  Medaglie  d'Oro.     Merletti  di  Venezia, 

nel  1878,  da  Fambri,  Firenze,  Tipografia,  Lemonnier,  L879. 

681.  I  Merletti   nel   Circondario  di   Chiavari.     G.    P>.   Brignardello,   Firenze, 

Tipografia  G.  Barbeca,  1st.'!. 

682.  Scavi  di  Claterna  nel   Comune  di  Ozzano  dell'   Emilia.     Roma,  Tipo- 

grafia della  R.  Accademia  dei  Lincei,  1892. 

683.  Designs  for  Point  Lace.     W.  Barnard,  11!)  Edgeware    Road,  London. 

684.  Hand-book  of  Point  Lace.     W.Barnard,   119   Edgeware  Road,  London. 

685.  La  Paleografia  Artistica  nei  Codici  Cassinesi.     Applicata  a  Lavori  In- 

dustrial    Merletti,   dalla    Tav.   1,   alia   Tav.    20,     Litografia,    Monte 
Cassino,  1888. 

686.  Descrizione     di    Alcuni    Minutissimi    Intagli    a    Mano.     Properzia   di 

Rossi. 

687.  Spitzen     Munsterbuch    Museum    fur    Kunst    und    Industrie.     Wilhelm 

Hoffmans. 

688.  Histoire  du  Point  d'Alencon  depuis  son  origine  jusqua  nos jours.     Mine. 

G.  Despieures. 

689.  La  Vita  dei  Veneziani  nel,  1300.     Le  Vesti,  B.  Cecchetti. 

690.  Tessuti  e  Merletti  Esposizione,  1887.      Erculei. 

691.  Rapport    sur    les    Dentelles,    les    Blondes,  les  Tulles  par  Felix  Aubry. 

Esposition  de  Loudres. 

692.  II  Fiore  delle  Donne  Italiane  dall'  Av.  to  Franciosi. 

693.  Lecons   Pratiques   pour  Executer  la  Dentelle  aux  fuseaux,  de  la  Bonne 

Managere. 

694.  Donne  Illustri  Italiane,  Proposte  ad  Esempio,  dedicata  a  S.  M.  la  Regina 

Margherita  per  Eugenio  Comba. 

695.  Histoire  de  la  Dentelle  par  Mme.  de  X ■— .,  Paris,  1843. 

696.  Note  per  le  Giovanette  Studiose. 

697.  Alcune  Donne  Illustri  Italiane  di  Giuseppe  Spallicci. 
698.'     La  Dogaressa  di  Venezia  per  Pompeo  Molmenti. 

699.  Costumi  del  Tre  Cento. 

700.  Guide  to  Old  and  New  Lace   in   Italy  by  the  Countess  Cora  di  BrazzS. 


I78  OLD   AND    NEW    LACE    IN    ITALY, 


COLLECTION  D'OUVRAGES   ANCIENS   SUR    LA   DENTELLE  DE 
VENISE.     FERD.  ONGANIA,   EDIT. 

701.  Vecellio. — Recueil  des  nobles  et  vertueuses  dames,  en  quatre  livres  dans 

lesquelles  on  voit  en  119  dessins  toutes  les  especes  de  parements,  de 
points  ouvrages  d'ornements,  de  fleurons,  etc.;  fac-simile  de  1'  edition 
originate  de  1600,  etc.    Yenise,  1876 80  fr. 

702.  Franco  J. — Xouvelle  invention  de  divers  ornements  tels  que  le  point  en 

1'  air,  24  dessins  de  dentelles,  etc.;  fac-simile  de  1'  edition  originale  de 
1596.    Venise,  1S77 20  fr. 

703.  Lucrece  Romaine. — Ornements  nobles  pour  toutes  les  elegantes  dames, 

ouvrage  contenant  des  cols,  dentelles  d'une  tres  grande  beaute,  20 
planches  in -4°;  fac-simile  de  1'  edition  originale  de  1620.  Venise,  1876, 
30  fr. 

704.  Pagan  Math. — Le  bon  exemple  du  desir  louable  qu'  ont  les  dames  d'une 

grande  adresse  a  preparer  les  points  ouvrages  en  feuillage,  81  planches 
gravees;  fac-simile  de  1'  edition  originale  de  1550.   Venise,  1878.  .30  fr. 

705.  Zoppino  (Nicolas  d'Aristotile  dit). — Recueil  de  belles broderies  anciennes 

et  modernes  dans  lequel  une  rare  adresse  soit  d'homme  soit  de  femme 
pourra  s'  exercer  dignement  avec  1'  aiguille,  etc.;  52  planches  gravees; 
fac-simile  de  1'  edition  originale  de  1537.    Venise,  1877 30  fr. 

706.  Vavassore  And.  (dit  Guadagnini). — CFuvre  nouvelle  universelle  intitulee: 

Recueil  de  broderies  ou  les  respectables  dames  et  jeunes  filles  trou- 
veront  des  ouvrages  varies  pour  faire  les  cols  de  leurs  camisoles,  etc.; 
fac-simile  de  1'  edition  originale  de  1546.    Venise,  1878 80  fr. 

707.  Ostaus  Jean. — Tres  belle  maniere  de  tenir   ses  jeunes  filles  occupees, 

comme  le  faisait  la  chaste  Lucrece  Romaine  avec  ses  femmes,  alors 
qu'  elle  fut  surprise,  travaillaht  avec  elles,  par  Tarquin  accompagne  de 
son  mari;  fac-simile  de  1'  edition  originale  de  1567.   Venise,  187N...80  fr. 

708.  Pagan  Mat. — Ouvrage  nouveau,  redige  par   Dominique  da  Seva,  dit  le 

Franciosino,  ou  Ton  enseigne  a  toutes  les  gracieuses  demoiselles  a  tra- 
vailler  en  toute  sorte  de  points,  etc.;  fac-simile  de  1'  edition  originale 
de  1546.    Venise,  1878 40  fr. 

709.  Paganino  Alex.  (Burato) — Livre  premier  des  broderies   au  moyen  du- 

quel  on  apprend  de  differentes  facons  la  maniere  de  broder,  chose  qui 
n'  a  encore  jamais  ete  faite  ni  montree,  maniere  que  le  lecteur  apprend 
en  tournant  la  page;  fac-simile  de  1'  edition  originale  de  1527.  Venise. 
1878 40  fr. 

710.  Serena. — Nouvel   ouvrage  de  broderies  dans  lequel   ou  trouve  diverses 

sortes  de  points  en  natte  et  de  points  a  fil,  etc.  Venise,  Dominique  de 
Franceschi;  fac-simile  de  1'  edition  originale  de  1594.  Venise  1878 
80  fr! 


OLD   AND    NEW    LACE    IN    ITALY.  \ /' ) 

711.  Zoppino  (Aristotile  dit).     Exemplaire  u  ouvrages  ou  les  jeunes  fi.1 

Les  grandes  dames  pourront  facilement  apprendre  la  maniere  de 
travailler,  etc.;  fac-simile  de  1'  edition  originale  de  1530.  \  enise, 
1S7S 30  It. 

712.  Parasole    Isabella   Catanea.     Joyau   precieux  lies  femmes    vertueuses. 

( )u  1'  on  voit  de  tres  beaux  travaux  en  point  en  1'  air,  a  reseaux  a  mail- 
Ie  et  a  fuseaux,  dessines  par  I.  C.  Parasole  Publies  de  nouveau  par 
Luchino  Gargano;  fac-simile  de  1'  edition  originale  1600.  Venise,  1^7V. 
W  i'. 

713.  Tagliente.-  -Nouvel   exemplaire  qui  enseigne  a  coudre  et  a  broder  aux 

femmes,  et  a  dessiner  a  qniconque,  etc.,  1531.;  fac-simile.  \  enise, 
1879 "',l  !>• 

714.  Burato.    -Livre   premier  des  broderies,  au   moyen  duquel   on  apprend, 

etc.  (voir  N.  IX.  Paganino.) 
A.  b.  c.     Livre   deuxieme,    troisieme    et    quatrieme   des    broderies   au 
moyen  duquel  on  apprend  la   maniere  de  broder,  etc.     Ouvrage  nou- 
veau.   Alex.  Paganino  1527;  fac-simile.    Venise,  1880  (tres  rare)..  .90  fr. 

715.  Urbani  de  Gheltof  G.  M.    Traite  historique  et  technique  de  la  frabica 

tion  des  dentelles  venitiennes  (Venise-Burano).     In-12  avec  7  planches 

et  27  vignettes.    Venise,  1878 15  fr- 

La  traduction  en  francais  par  M.  Le  Monnier,  gratis. 

716.  Urbani  de  Gheltof  G.  M.— A  technical   history  of  the   manufacture  ol 

Venetian  laces  (Venice-Burano)  in  12  with  7  engravings  in  fac-simile 
and  27  vignettes,  translated  by  Lady  Layard.    Venise,  1888 1">  Er. 

VIENT  DE  PARAITRE:     I.  bis  VECELLIO  C. 

717.  Corona   Delle   Nobili  et  Virtvuose   Donne   Libro  Qvinto.     Nel  quale  ti 

contengono  molti,  and  varii  Diffegni  di  diuerfe  Eorti,  and  specialmente 
che  feruono  per  Bauari  ch'in  Venetia  fi  coftumano,  and  in  molte  altre 
parti  del  mondo.  Opera  molto  vtile,  and  neceffaria  per  quelle  virtu- 
ofiffime  Donne  che  fi  dilettano  di  lauorare  con  Aco,  punti  in  Aria, 
punti  Tagliati,  and  a  Reticelli,  cosi  fopra  Cambradi,  e  Renfi,  come 
fopra  altre  Tele.     Venezia,  appresso  Cesare  Vecellio,  1596. .  Prix  fr.  20 

PARASOLE  C. 

718.  Teatro  Delle   Nobili  et  Virtvose   Donne. — Dove  si  rappresenfano  Varij 

Dissegni  di  Lauori  nouamente  Inuentati,  et  disegnati  da  Elisabetta 
Catanea  Parafole  Romana.     Roma,  1616 Prix  fr.  40 

719.  Urbano  di  Gheltof  Francese. 

720.  Corona  delle  Virtuose  Donne.     Libro  quinto,  Vecellio,  Venezia,  L590. 

721.  Prima  Parte  de'Fiori  e  Disegno  di  Varie  Sorti  di  Ricance  Moderni  come 

Merle,  Bavari,  Manichetti  etc.  in  Venezia.  Appresso  Francesco  dei 
Franceschi,  Senese  all'  lnsegna  della  Pace. 

722.  Catalogue  Ongania. 


l80  OLD    AND    NEW    LACE    IN    ITALY. 

723.  J.  Beal,  dentelles  et  broderies  145  planches. 

724.  J.  Beal.     Nouvelle  edition  dentelles  anciennes,  Paris  chez  Calaves  68. 

Que  de  Lafayette.     Foglie  26. 

725.  E.  Kumsch.      Spitzen  und  Weiss  Stickerei  des   XVI,  XVIII,      Jahrn. 

K.  Kunst  gewerbe  Museum  zu  Dresden.    Foglie  50. 

726.  Prof.  B.  Hoffman,  director  der  K.  Industrieschule  Stilisirte  Planzenfor- 

men  in  Industriella  Verwendung.     Serie  I.     Spitzen  12,  blatt. 

727.  Photographs   of  Cluny   Museum,    published  by   A.  Calavvas,   68  Rue 

Lafayette,  Paris,  35foglie. 

728.  R.    Forrer.     Die    Graeber    und    Textilunde   von   Achmin,    Panapolis. 

Strassburg,  1891.     Druck  von  Emil  Birkhauser   Basel. 

729.  R.    Forrer.     Romische   und    Byzantinische    Seiden    Textile    aus    den 

Gaeber  Felde  von  Achmin  Panopolis,  Strassburg,  i-e,  1891.  Druck 
Emil   Birkhauser  Basel. 

730.  Prehistorische   Varia   aus    dem    Unterhaltungsblatt    fur    Freunde   der 

Alterthums  kunde  Antiqua.  Herausgegeben  von  R.  Forrer  und  H. 
Messikommer  Zurich,  1889. 

731.  Reproduction  of   Ancient  Lace  Plates  of  the  end    of  the    last    century, 

very  rare,  called:  Nova  Espositore  di  Recami  e  Disegni  alia  Molto 
Illustre  Signora  Ippolita  Manfredi  appresso  Giacomo  Antonio  Som- 
ascho. 

732.  Quental  Ornament  und    Stickmunsterbuch    von    Peter    Quental,    1527- 

1529.     80  Tafelm,  Leipzig  von  A.  M.  Golze. 
733-     Joh  Sibmacher's  Neues   stick,    Spitzen   Musterbuch   von   Jahre,   1604. 
Herausgegeben   von    Dr.    Georgeus,    Berlin,    Ernest    Wasmuth.    60 
Tafeln,  2  boeder  blatter. 

734.  Livre  d'Heures,  editeur  Alfred  Mame  et  Fils,    Tours,  Dessins,  Henri 

Carot,  Illustre  d'apres  les  Dentelles  de  toutes  les  Epoques  et  toutes 
les  styles.     Foglie  360,  e  Introduction  an  sujet  de  la  Dentelle. 

735.  Guarich's  Reprints  of  Rare    Books.     Ill — Pagan    Mathio,  La  Gloria  et 

l'Honore  de  Punto  Tagliato  e  Punto  in  Aere.  Venezia,  Mathio  Pagan, 
1558.     London  Bernard  Guarlich  15.     Piccadilly,  1884. 

736.  Idem. 

737.  Parasole    Isabella,    Catania. — Studio    delle    Virtuose    Donne,    Rome, 

Antonio  Facchetti,  1597. 

738.  Teresa  Guattrocolo  Giaglio,  Guida  ai  Lavori   Donneschi.     Libreria  G. 

B.  Petrini,  Torino  15.     Via  Garibaldi,  1890. 

739.  Alfredo  Melani. — Svaghi  Artistici  Femminili,  Editore  N.  Hoepli,  1892. 

740.  Livre  de  Dentelles  No.  1.     Chez  Amand  Durand  sous   la    Direction  de 

Emmanuel  Bocher.     69  Rue  du  Cardinal  Lemoine,  1883.     Foglie  20. 

741.  Idem,  No.  2.     Foglie,  20. 

742.  Idem,  No.  3.     Foglie,  10. 

743.  Idem,  No.  4.     Foglie,  21. 

744.  Idem,  No.  5.     Foglie,  20. 


<  INDEX.  > 


IMI.I.. 

Frontispiece. 

Dedication  of  the  Book  to  Her  Majesty  Queen  Margherita,  of  Italy ■'! 

Reproduction  of  the  Dedication  of  an  Antique  Pattern  Book  for  Lace  Mak- 
ing by  Auretio  Passerotti  to  Her  Royal  Highness  the  Princess  Marghe- 
rita  Duchess  of  Ferrara,  in  1592 :> 

Preface .". 

PART  I. 

Consisting  of  an  Introductory  Description  of  all  the  Principal  Needle  and 
Pillow  Laces  Manufactured  in  the  Past  and  Present  Centuries,  Ar- 
ranged Chronologically. 

Argentella 18 

Antique  Brussels  Pillow  Lace 25 

Antwerp  Lace 25 

Burato 13 

Burano  Point  and  the  Laces  to  Which  it  Gave  Origin 18 

Broiderie  des  Indes 20 

Binche •_'."> 

"Blonde". ...  28 

Cut  Work 13 

Cartisane '_':! 

Closter  Spitze 26 

"Chantilly" 27 

Ceylon  Laces .'!'_' 

Drawn  Work 13 

Duchess  Lace _.  19 

Dalecarlie :l| 

English  Needle  Lace... lit 

English  Trolly  Lace .  '_'•"> 

Frivolite 12 

Gimp 11 

Guipure 2] 

Guipure  di  Genoa '_'•_' 

Guipure    Fiamengo 22 

Honiton " lit 

Irish  Point 20 

Irish  Guipure 'JO 

Knitting 11 

Laces 12 

La  Bisette 28 

La  Guense 28 

La  Campane  . ..  28 

La    Mignonette 28 

Macrame 11 

181 


182  INDEX. 

PAGE. 

Maglia - — -  H 

Modano  12 

Merletto  a  Maglia  or   Maglietta 12 

Merletto  a  Maglia  Quadrata — 12 

Merletto  a  Retine  Ricamate 12 

Merletto  a  Tombola -  20 

Maltese    Point 22 

Merletto  Greco...    23 

Merlet  to  Polichrome --  24 

Mechlin   --  24 

Mediaeval  Household  Lace 31 

Madeira  Lace 32 

Net    —  12 

Net  Lace 12 

Square  Net    Lace 12 

Embroidered  Net    Lace 12 

Old  Flemish  Point 25 

Passamano  or  Passamenterie 11 

Punto  a  Groppo H 

Punto  Moresco . H 

Punto  a  Groppo  Incordonato 11 

Punto  Tirato  or  Disfatto 13 

Punto  Tagliato 13 

Punto  in  Stuora . 13 

Punto  Tagliato  (Manufacture  of) 13 

Punto  Calabrese 13 

Punto  a  Reticella   Radixelli  (Net  Points)... 14 

Punto  Surana — 14 

Punto  Greco 14 

Punto  Reale 14 

Punto  di  Cartella  or  Cardella 14 

Punti   d'Arcato.. -  14 

Punto  Fiamenghi 14 

Punto  Spagnuoli 14 

Punto   Gaetani 14 

Punto  Damaschino 15 

Punto  a  Filo  or  Punto  a  Festone 15 

Punto  Rilevato 15 

Punto  Sopra  Punto  15 

Punto    Ingarseato 15 

Punto  Cipriota 15 

Punto   Pugliese 15 

Point  Laces 15 

Punto   di  Venezia •- 16 

Punto  in  Aria 1" 

Punto  ad  Avorio - 16 

Punto  dei  NobilL   16 

Punto  Tagliato  a  Fogliame 17 

Punto  di  Spagna J™ 

Punto  di  Neve j-7 

Punto  di   Rosa J7 

Punto  a  Fogliame. J 7 

Punto  a  Gioie 1° 

Point  d'Alencon 1° 

Point  d'Argentan 18 


INDEX.  183 


P  10  E. 

Point  de   Bruxelles 19 

Point    Plat . 19 

l'u n to  di  Genoa .__ 22 

PuntO  di  Ragusa 28 

Punto  di    Rapallo '_'•"> 

Pun  to  a  Vermicelli 23 

Pillow  Laces  with  Net  and  Mixed  Grounds '24 

Point  d'Angleterre 24 

Point  de  Bruges 26 

Point  de    Paris. . 26 

"Point  de  Lille" 27 

Point  d'    Esprit... 29 

Punto  di    Milano 30 

Rete 12 

Russian  Lace  and  Hungarian    Lace .. ~'.\ 

Sicilian  Torchon 32 

Turkish    Point '__ 20 

Torchon  Lace 30 

Vieux  Point  de   Bruxelles 19 

Venetian  Guipure .-  20 

PART    II. 

The  Birth  of  the  Textile  Arts  and  the  Origin  of  Lace. 

The    Lake   Dwellers   and   their   Textiles,  Central  African  Life  and  Lace 

Makers -"<;' 

Babylonian  and  Assyrian  Customs  Illustrated  from  the  Life  of  Job :'.s 

Oldest  Egyptian  Customs  and  Costumes,  Illustrations  on  the  Tombs  Con- 
structed 3300  B.  C hi 

Jewish  Costumes,  the  First  Written  Mention  of   Lace 19 

Roman  Costumes,  the  Wonderful  Textile   Treasures  from    Achmin    Pan- 
apolis  and  First  Needle  and  Bobbin  or   Pillow  Laces  Turkish   Needle 

Laces .. 54 

Phrygian  Caps  and  Nets  of  Lace.    Greek  and  Etruscan  Customs  and  (  os- 

tumes 65 

Arachne,  the  Goddess  of  Lace  Making TI 

Classic  Bobbins,  Crochet  and  Netting  Needles  for  Lace  Making 61 

Spindles,  Whirls  and  Needles  from  the   Rheincleer    Period,   through    the 

Ages  to  To-day .-  «•'! 

The   Oldest    Knit  Socks  in  Existence  and  the  Peruvian  Knitting  Needles 

and  Yarn,  Long  Anterior  to  the  Landing  of  Columbus 76 

PART  I  I  I. 
The  Renaissance. 

The  Early  Christian  Church  and  the  Court  of  Byzantium  Preserve  a  Tra- 
dition of  Textile  Art.     The  Mosaics  of  Ravenna-Hyspano  Moresque 

Laces  of  the  Eleventh  and    Twelfth  Century -  ■  • 

blue  Lace 79 

The  Polichrome  Silk  and  Alves  Laces  and   Mediaeval    Embroideries  and 

1  )rawn  Work 80 

Byzantine  Baptismal  Lace sl 

( >pus  Anglicanum vl 


184  INDEX. 

PAGE. 

The   Sumtuary  Laws  and  Edicts  Against   the  Uses  of   Gimps   and    Lace 

from   1215  to  the  Sixteenth  Century 82 

The  Treasures  Preserved  in    the   Archives   of    Bologna    Illustrate   Lace 

Making 83 

The   Rotuli   Show  when  Reticella  came  into  Fashion 83 

Early  Venetian  Costumes,  the  Wonderful  Kerchiefs 85 

Rhodian  and  Sicilian  Drawn  Work,  Punto  a  Crocetta  and  Trapunto  Carti- 

sane,  Waxed  and  Gold  Lace ._  87 

The  Sforza  Visconti  Document 91 

The  Gothic  Laces  made  by  Queen  Isabella  of   Spain  and  her  Daughters, 

and  Worn  by  Columbus 93 

The  Luxury  in  House  Linen 95 

The  Earliest  Piece  of  True  Venetian  Point,  Punto  in  Aria 97 

PART    IV. 

The  Golden  Age  of  Lace  from  1500  to  the  French  Empire. 100 

The  Old  Lace  Pattern  Books  and  Titian's  Nephew 100 

The  Palatial   Boarding  Schools   of   the  Sixteenth  Century  and  Princely 

Teachers 101 

Queen   Catherine  of   Medici,  la  Reine   des  Marguerites   The   Queen    of 

Daisies,   and    Beautiful  Mary,  Queen   of   Scots,   Among  Royal  Lace 

Makers...i.... 101 

The  Superb  Net  Lace  Nos.  168,  170,  made  by  Jeanne  d'  Albret,  Queen   of 

Navarre  and  Mother  of  Henry  IV  of  France  and  the   Ladies  of   her 

Court  during  the  Persecution  of  the  Huguenots 102 

The  Legend  of  the  Unicorn  Pictured  in  Lace,  and  other  Storied  Meshes..  102 

Modena,  Tuscan,  and    Cyprian  Laces 104 

Spanish  and  French  Guipures _ 105 

The  Noble  Venetian  Ladies  who  Protected  and  Developed  Textile  Art..  106 

Punto  in  Aria — Carnival  and  other  Emblematic  Lace  107 

Moresque  Lace  and  Macrame  Guipure    made  in  Madeira,  Milan,  Genoa, 

Ragusa  and  Venice -   .     111 

The  Lace  of  the  Buoncompagni  Pope  Gregory  XIII,  and  the  Pictures  by 

Lavinia  Fontana 113 

The  Votive  Lace  of  the  Italian  FisherFolk 113 

Angelica  Banc 114 

The  Legend  of  the  Invention  of  Rose  Point 115 

The   Secret   of    Point    Lace    Making   Stolen  by   Order   of  Colbert   from 

Venice 116 

The  Schools  Established  in  France 116 

Royal  Advertising  in  the  Seventeenth  Century '..  117 

Her  Majesty's  Laces  and  the  Copies  Made  from  them  at  Burano 118 

The  Barbenni  Corsini  Laces  ..    117 

Clement  VII's  Surplice  which  Belonged  to  Robert  Browning  the  Poet 118 

Madame  de  Sevigne  and  Black  Lace,  and  Lace  Printed  on  Dress  Goods  120 

The  Fashion  Babies 120 

The  Sixteen  Wonderful  Books  of  the  "Ancients"  at  Bologna 125 

The  Unfinished  Burano  Lace  of  the  Nuns 125 

Alencon  and  Argentan : 127 

The  Laces  of  the  Emperor  Napoleon  the  First  and  his  Family .  127 

The  Originals  and   Perfect  Copies  from   Burano,  Among  which   is  to   be 

Found  the  First  Example  of  Shaded  Lace 128 

Marie  Antoinette,  Queen  of  Fashion,  and  her  Prime  Minister's  Remaining 

French  Laces 129 


I  M  )  K  X  . 

PAOl  . 

German  Laces  and  those  of  the  other  Northern  Nations 181 

Rare  Examples  of  All  the  Qualities  of  I  hitch  and  Belgian  Laces. 133 

Lares  from  the  Old  Kingdom  of  the  Two  Sicilies  and   the  Northern  Prov- 
inces of    Italy ..  136 

The  Blondes  of  the  Empire,  and  the   Reawakening  of   Italy  to  Artistic 

Life . ...  1  in 

PART     V. 

The  Modern  Lace.     Its  Artificers  and  Framing. 

The  Wood  Carvings  of  Besarel  and  his  Daughter 1  It 

205.      The  Peasant  Woman  from  Brazza  .  147 

The  Silks  from  Udine .   117 

The  Gates  Wrought  in  the  Shadow  of  Romeo  and  Juliet's  Castle-  149 

2051.  The  Greatest  Italian  Photographer  a   Woman  and  a   Countess   who  149 

Carried  off  the  Gold   Medal  in  London .. 

234-238J  The  Wonderful  Laces  madeby  an  Italian  Marchioness.. 150 

2022.  The  School  of  Burano— Tribute  to  the   Idolized  Countess  Andriana 

Marcello            151 

2nl7.  The  School  of  Coccolia,  belonging  to  the  Countess  Maria  PasolinL.  1">:; 

2020.  The  School  of  Brazza  founded  in  September,  1891, by  the  Author 154 

2012  a-b.   Institution  of  S.  S.    Ecce    Homo,   Naples,  the    Home  of  Girls 

Orphaned  by   the   Cholera  . — 15,6 

Signora  Enrica  Fraschetti,  the  Most  Perfect  Artist  in  Reticella 157 

The  Industrial  School  of   San  Ranieri,  Pisa  ... .    157 

The  Schools  of  San  Pelegrino,  Bologna, 2013,  and  San  Paolo,  Modena, 

1051 .    .    .   '. . 157 

2002.  The  Asylum  of  the  Figliedi  Maria,  of  Sardigna 158 

2005.  The  Orphanage  of  St.  Silvestro,  Florence 159 

2006.  The  Institution  of  Santa  Teresa  and   the,  2003,  Leopoldine  Schools 

of  Florence . 159 

The  Exhibitors  and  Art  School  of  Cantu,  2009  A.  B 160 

2<  ds.  Columbo— Angelo  and  Giuseppina 162 

Jin >7.   Marelli  Benedetta 162 

2015.  Meroni,  Antonia,  Cantu ^ — 162 

Liguria  ... .. ..   163 

Vincenzo  Badarucco,  2041,  and  Nicola  Bianchi,  2042,  Chiavari 163 

The  School  of  Providence,  2024,  Rapallo 163 

Nicola  Castagnetta,  2024,  Rapallo 164 

Luigia  Campodonico,  2025,  Rapallo .. 164 

Teresa  Canevaro,  2026,  Rapallo 164 

Maria  Schiattino  and  Quirolo,  2027,  Rapallo 164 

Gherardelli  Campodonico,  2028,  Rapallo 164 

Rosa  Lanata,  2035,  Rapallo    - ---  164 

Angelo  Morelli,  2029,  Rapallo ----  164 

Gaetano  Vastallo,  2031,  Rapallo  ---  164 

Colombo  Caprili,  2048,  Rapallo --  164 

Anna  Barbieri,  2049,Rapallo 164 

Angela  BafBco,  2023  Santa  Margherita      . 164 

Felice  Foppiano,  2034,   Santa  Margherita — —  164 

Marianna  Marigliano,  2036,    Santa   Margherita 164 

Nana  Raffo  Costa,  2037,  Santa  Margherita 165 

Ernestina  Gavotti,  2038.  Sampierdarena "'■_' 

Guiseppe  Russo,  2040,  ( ienoa '''•' 


186  INDEX. 

PAGE. 

Dr.  Macchiavello,  2039.  Genoa 165 

2011.     The  Ladies   of  Perugia 165 

2010.     TheSistersof    Providence 1R6 

2021.     The  Penitentiary  of    Messina  . ...  166 

2047.     The  Tuscan  Homespuns 166 

2014.     Offida  Laces     160 

2019.     Piedmont  Laces 160 

2053.  Straw  Plaiting  from  the  Seven  Communes 166 

2054.  Straw  Plaiting  from  the  Seven  Communes 166 

2050.     Modern  Polichrome  Lace      , 161 

Modern  Laces  from  Paraquay,  China,  Japan,  Turkey,  etc  167 

PART  VI. 

List  of  Books  of  Reference  Exhibited   171 

List  of  the  Lady  Directresses  and  Patronesses  of  the  Italian  Lace  Exhibit, 

Domiciled  in  Italy  and  Elsewhere 170 


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